Her Girl on Fire
by HideYourWife
Summary: Brittany is a firefighter in New York City and Santana is a famous singer. When Santana's apartment burns down a strange twist of events leads to Santana having to live with the very person who saves her. Will Brittany be able to control the feelings that she develops for her impromptu roommate?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: So this is my first Brittana fic :) I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you think that I should bother continuing with it! **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee.

Chapter 1

**Brittany's pov.**

Brittany was kicked back in one of the chairs in the canteen when the alarm sounded. Jolting forward she grips the edge of the table and looks around, trying to shake herself out of the sleepy haze that she had fallen into. The others are already up and moving, going out to gear up. It seems that every time she tries to get a wink of sleep that damned alarm goes off with a new call-out.

It only takes her another second to react and is up and out the door following her team. She grabs her gear out of her locker and is half way through putting her coat on as she climbs into the back of the fire-truck. Puck begins to pull the truck out of the station a second later. It is only now that Brittany is geared up that she can bring her attention to the task at hand and the usual adrenaline that comes with every call out begins to build. It never really goes away until you know exactly what you are facing and then your body can decide whether you can keep cool or work yourself up.

"I didn't quite catch the call, where are we headed?" Brittany asks Blaine as she fixes her boots.

"An apartment fire on Fifth Avenue," he replies while adjusting his helmet.

Brittany grimaces, they don't often get call outs to Fifth Avenue.

"Any idea what we should be expecting?"

"Not really, we didn't receive many details. All we know is that there is a fire on the fourth floor of an apartment block."

Brittany looks out the window and watches as they fly through the busy streets. Puck turns the sirens on as they head into a heavily congested area that could slow them down. The cars begin to part before them and they glide through the traffic with ease. They can see the smoke rising into the late afternoon sky as they come around the last block.

As Brittany's eyes land on the apartments, she knows that this isn't going to be a straightforward operation. It is clear that the fire has already spread to the higher floors from where it originated, meaning that the structures on the floors it had already spread through would already be incinerated.

A crowd had gathered on the street in front of the apartments. The police were busy cordoning off the area, to ensure that nobody made any attempts to get back into the building. The ambulances had already arrived and the paramedics were attending the tenants that had managed to make it out.

The fire-truck jerked to a stop, they instantly jumped out and began to assess the situation. Two more engines from their station rolled up beside them and Chief Beiste was the first to hop out, quick to start delivering the orders.

"Anderson! Hudson! Chang! You three start on the bottom floor and make your way up. Make sure it's clear of any tenants." The three of them nodded and took off. "Karofsky, get that ladder up to the top floor. Pierce, you go up and work your way down!"

"You got it Chief!" Karofsky shouts.

Brittany clambers to the top of the engine as Karofsky swivels the ladder and it begins to extend towards the top floor. Once it has extended fully and rests against the window pane, Karofsky signals to Brittany that she has the go ahead to make her ascent.

Brittany is eager to get to the top but paces herself; she knows what can happen when you rush. Brittany stops as she reaches the top and looks into the window. There was a thick layer of smoke hanging over the room but no flames. Brittany opened the window and ducked down as the smoke rushed out. Brittany turned back to the window and made the transition from ladder to apartment with ease.

Brittany found herself in a glamorous open plan living room. Brittany started to call out for anybody in the apartment. It was clear that there was no one in this room so she moved forwards into the penthouse. The kitchen checked out, as did the first bathroom that she came across. That was followed by a large closet and office.

_Seriously how big is this place? _

Brittany enters the last room, the master bedroom. A king size bed dominates the room. Brittany moves into the room and checks under the bed, continuing to call out for victims.

"Help!" A cry of distress comes from the other side of the room. Brittany moves over to the large wardrobe. When she opens it she finds a young, dark-haired woman curled up in the corner, sitting on dozens of pairs of shoes. Brittany kneels down and reaches out to her. When Brittany's hand touches her wrist, the woman jerks backwards and grabs Brittany's hand. The first thing that Brittany notices are her eyes. She can tell that on any other day that they would be the most alluring eyes she had ever seen but right now all she can see in them is fear. Slight relief slowly seeps into her features as she realises that she is no longer alone and that someone has come to her rescue.

"Are you okay?" Brittany shouts, as the helmet muffles her voice and the noise of the fire raging below surrounds them.

The woman nods and attempts to tell Brittany that she is unharmed but starts to cough violently. It makes Brittany realise just how long she must have been inhaling smoke. She reaches down to her oxygen mask and takes it off. She nods at it letting the woman know that she should take it from her.

"Is there anyone else here?"

The woman shakes her head and Brittany sighs a breath of relief.

"Okay, I'm gonna get you out of here. Stay with me, okay?" Brittany tries to assure her with her eyes that everything would be ok, even though she didn't know that.

Brittany reaches forward and takes her hand in her own, helping her out of the wardrobe. They quickly walk back out into the hallway. When they turn the corner to get back into the living room, it becomes obvious that escaping the burning building was not going to be easy.

The fire had spread up to the top floor and was now crawling its way across the living room. Stupid open plan apartments. The lack of doors dividing the majority of the apartment meant that there were no barriers for the fire to have to work through. Still, Brittany had thought that it would have taken longer for the fire to burn its way through the front door.

In order for them to get to the window they would have to cross the line of fire that was standing in their way.

Brittany turned and grabbed the woman by the shoulders. "Stay here."

With that Brittany ran back to the first bedroom she had checked. There was an elegant white dresser that stood at the end of the bed. Brittany started pushing it back out into the hallway.

"What are you doing with that?" The woman looked confused as to why Brittany would choose now to start worrying about her furniture.

"I'm going to push it onto the fire and we need jump over it before it gets burnt too."

"What?! Are you crazy? We'll burn!"

"That is exactly what I am trying to make sure doesn't happen."

Brittany shoves the dresser into the fire. Immediately the flames start to lick up the sides.

"Come on, we don't have much time. I'll climb over first and then I'll help you over. Then we'll be safe." Brittany starts to climb onto the dresser.

"No! I can't climb over that. That's not gonna happen. You have to find another way out for us."

"I can't. This is the only way."

The woman shook her head and stood her ground.

_God this woman is stubborn! Doesn't she know I'm trying to help her? _

Brittany climbs up onto the dresser, turns and reaches her hand out.

"What's your name?"

This does not amuse the woman.

"What, you think now is the time to be asking me my name?"

"Just tell me your name!"

"It's Santana. What difference does it make? We're not getting out of here!"

"Yes we are." Santana shakes her head derisively.

"Santana look at me." Santana's panicked eyes fall to Brittany's. "I need you to trust me. I am your only chance of getting out of here alive and we don't have much time."

Brittany looks into Santana's brown eyes and tries to convey to her how important it is that she listen to her.

Santana's eyes shift from Brittany's mesmerizingly blue eyes down to the hand that is reaching out to her, encouraging her to take it.

Santana hesitantly raises her hand out and places it in Brittany's. Brittany instantly holds onto her with a vice like grip and pulls her with such force that she is up on the dresser beside Brittany in a second. Brittany wastes no time in picking Santana up and swinging her over her shoulder. She turns and leaps from the dresser getting as far away from the fire as she possibly can. Brittany lands heavily and falls onto her knees, Santana's weight on her shoulder being too much and bringing them tumbling to the floor.

Brittany looks back over her shoulder and watches as the dresser is consumed by the flames. Heaving herself back onto her feet she reaches over and takes Santana's hand and drags her towards the window. Brittany climbs out first so that she can guide Santana out of the window. As Santana slowly makes her way out, gripping onto Brittany's shoulders tightly, Brittany notices that Santana's leg has been burned. Brittany can't tell how bad it is due to the tracksuit bottoms that she has on but she reckons it's painful and will probably leave a scar and she wonders why Santana isn't screaming in pain.

….

When they are safely back on the ground they are guided over to an ambulance where a paramedic soon begins to check them out for injuries. They sit at the back of the ambulance together, a comfortable silence developing between them. Brittany pulls her helmet off, takes her hair down and shakes it out. It feels so good for her to finally take her hair down.

Brittany misses Santana subtly staring at her out of the corner of her eye.

"It's nice to finally be able to see you. I could only really see your eyes and hear your voice." Santana's face flushes slightly when she realises what she says.

Brittany doesn't get the chance to respond as an oxygen tank is handed to her and she eagerly inhales from it. Brittany watches as the paramedic checks Santana's breath and realises that that isn't what they should be worrying about.

"Her leg," she says to the paramedic.

Both Santana and the paramedic look down to her right leg.

"What?" Santana gasps in disbelief. I don't even remember that happening.

"That'll be the adrenaline," the paramedic informs her, "now that you know that it's there, it's gonna start to hurt like a bitch."

Santana winces as the medic tends to the wound.

"Thank you." Santana whispers to Brittany.

Brittany looks up at Santana and sees that she is suddenly upset.

"Don't worry about it, it's just my job." Brittany shakes her head refusing to accept her gratitude.

Santana grabs her hand and Brittany's stomach has a funny dropping sensation.

"No really," she says desperately, "if you didn't find me, if you hadn't of forced me to listen to you, I would have died."

Brittany looks into the eyes that are starting to have an effect on her that she isn't quite sure that she likes and sees complete sincerity and gratitude. So she nods and accepts Santana's thanks.

The paramedic finishes working on Santana's leg.

"You'll need to go to the hospital." The paramedic states.

Santana does not look impressed.

"Are you for real? It can't be that bad."

Brittany is amused by Santana's sudden flip in attitude.

"We can only do so much in the field. You need to be checked out properly. You inhaled a lot of smoke and your leg needs to be dressed properly, what I've done is only a temporary solution."

Santana sighs in defeat. The paramedic looks over at Brittany. "You on the other hand, are good to go."

Brittany smiles but for some reason feels slightly disappointed.

"I'm glad your ok and I hope that your leg heals up quickly."

Santana looks a little bit shocked and seems to be unsure of what to say.

"Is that it? We just part ways? I mean I know we don't know each other but you just saved my life. I owe you at least a drink or something." Santana gestures blindly as if some idea will present itself to her.

"You don't owe me anything Santana and I don't think you are in any state to be going out for drinks. You leg is pretty severely burned and your apartment, which was very fancy I might add, has just burnt down. I am the last thing you should be thinking about."

"Huh…I completely forgot that my home has literally been burnt down."

Brittany chuckles and gets up and moves away from the back of the ambulance as the paramedic gestures for Santana to sit down in the back of the ambulance. Brittany stands there and watches as the doors close and wonders why she feels like something special is about to walk out of her life.

Suddenly a tanned hand stops the doors from closing and a head pops out and deep brown eyes look at Brittany shyly.

"Can I at least get your name?" Santana asks shyly.

"It's Brittany."

A smile breaks across Santana's face. "Brittany," she says as if she's trying out how it sounds, "that's pretty." And with that she closes the ambulance door behind her and Brittany watches as it drives away and she wonders if she will ever see that fiery Latina again.

...

**So that's chapter 1. I was going to further with it but then I thought that this would be a good point to cut it off and see if anyone felt like I should continue. Although I do know exactly where I am going with it. You can follow me on Tumblr at .com if you so wish! :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Thank you so much for the reviews and the follows :) I was really blown away by the response and I'm glad that you want me to continue. So here you go chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee.

Chapter 2

**Brittany's pov.**

Brittany is glad to be out of her gear, washed up and relaxing in a comfortable atmosphere. After she left the scene she had gone back to the station with the rest of her team. Puck and Blaine chatted happily about how there had been no casualties and that it had been a pretty successful operation. They had discovered that the fire had started due to an electrical appliance being left on after the occupant of the apartment had gone out for the day. It was most likely a hair straightener or something else similar.

However, Brittany found that she couldn't join in like she normally would. Her mood was down but she also felt that the others were talking about her behind her back. When she walked into the canteen to grab a bite to eat before her shift ended Puck and Blaine very obviously dropped a conversation that they had been engaging it. It didn't bother her too much so she just continued on her way but as she passed Karofsky and Mike on her way out of the station they suddenly went silent too. Brittany figured that maybe they just knew she was in no mood to talk. That awareness of each other's moods and feelings develops when you work in such a tightly knit team and have to spend so much time with each other but right now Brittany didn't really appreciate feeling left out.

Brittany isn't too bothered to find out what it is right now though and just gets into her car and drives to the one place where she knows she can talk to someone.

…

Brittany sits at her regular booth and picks at the banana cream pie that she ordered. Normally she would devour it in about four bites but she just doesn't have the stomach for it this evening. Brittany looks over at her mom as she serves another customer at the counter.

Brittany's parents opened _The Jolly Ranch Diner_ a couple years before she was born. These seats were where Brittany grew up colouring, doing her homework, studying for exams and eventually where she opened her acceptance letter into the academy. This was home and she still came here all the time to see her parents and get a slice of her famous banana cream pie. Brittany knew that if there was ever anything troubling her that she could talk to her mom and even though today's call out had been successful, Brittany still found herself feeling down and in need of some mother-daughter time.

Right now though there were a few customers and her mom couldn't sit down and talk right away so Brittany was just left with her thoughts. Santana was consuming all of her thoughts; she hadn't left her mind from the moment she had been driven away in that ambulance. Brittany couldn't help but feel that she had missed out on an opportunity. Santana was the first person in three months to make her forget about Sugar. They had been dating for two years and living together for one, until Brittany came home from a shift early one night and found Sugar in _their _bed with some guy. They broke up straight away, Brittany was pretty sure that Sugar wasn't even sorry. It was probably because she had been cheating for a while and was going to leave her for him anyway. Still, that didn't make it hurt any less.

Brittany had spent the following three months thinking about how she could have been a better girlfriend; she constantly berated herself and was convinced that it must have been something she had done to drive Sugar away. Brittany sometimes still thought all those things. Until today.

Brittany was just about to say her name when she heard it being uttered from the television set suspended in the corner of the diner. Brittany's head jerked up and her eyes fell on Santana on the screen. It was a news broadcast covering today's fire. Brittany's face scrunched up in confusion. Fires normally made the news but people were never singled out, especially when there were no casualties.

"…_one of the residents of the building was none other than chart-topping, singing sensation, Santana Lopez. Lopez was at home in her 6__th__ floor penthouse apartment when the blaze started and was trapped until fire-fighters quickly arrived on the scene. Lopez suffered minor injuries and was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital for further treatment. However, what we are sure fans are all wondering is, where will go now? With her apartment being burnt down Lopez is left with few options: Stay with her recent ex-boyfriend, turn to a friend or pick a hotel. We will be sure to keep you updated as news on this matter progresses. Fans will also be left wondering whether this will have an affect on her upcoming album that was due to be released this summer…"_

Brittany drew her attention away from the television; she didn't want to see anymore. All they cared about was where they were going to be able to get their next picture of her. They already had some footage of her and Brittany coming down the ladder. Brittany was thankful that they hadn't been followed to the ambulance. Brittany was about to delve back into all her Santana related thoughts when the bell of the diner chimed.

Brittany's mouth dropped open in surprise to find a rain-soaked, frazzled looking Santana Lopez standing in the doorway.

…

**Santana's pov.**

Santana couldn't wait to get out of that God forsaken hospital. There was nothing else in the world she hated more than hospitals, well except for maybe her agent and her label. Having being looked at straight away and her leg bandaged up properly, Santana thought that she would be able to go home. The doctors had other ideas. They wanted to keep her in for observation overnight but she was having none of it. Eventually the old Lopez charm paid off and she convinced them that if she stayed for a few hours and she was feeling alright that they would let her go.

Santana had been hoping to get out of there before her agent showed up but she wasn't so lucky. Will showed up in all kinds of a fluster, demanding to know if she was ok. Not that he actually cared for her well-being; she was his income. He gave her a bag with some clothes to change into and a credit card so that she could check into a hotel somewhere.

When he saw Santana's leg though he nearly had an aneurysm.

"_Santana, your leg!" he exclaimed._

"_Yeah yeah look it's not that bad," she sighed._

"_Not that bad? Santana this will take weeks to heal." He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to calm himself. _

"_Maybe it's a good thing," Santana told him, "I kind of need to take a break anyway. You guys have been working me to the bone. It was only a matter of time before I burned out anyway." Will's face cleared._

"_Yeah, you're right; this could be good for you. The album wasn't going too well anyway, you need a clean break, you can…"_

"_Hold up," Santana cuts across quickly, "I meant have some time off, not leave permanently. I just need a few weeks and then I'll be right back at work."_

"_Look Santana, we've been thinking about this for a while, if the new album didn't sell well we were going to drop you anyway. The only reason we were keeping you around was because you look great and fans think you're hot but now with your leg being all scarred, you won't sell. I think it's time we took things in a new direction."_

_Santana started to panic, yeah she hated her label but she had never thought about actually leaving it. _

"_No, Will, no. It will heal! Please just give me one more chance. Give me this time off and I promise that it will heal and I will finish the album and it will be the best thing that the label has ever released. I promise you."_

_Will looked unsure but eventually gave in. _

"_Fine. You have a month to heal up and get your act together, ok?"_

_Santana sighed with relief. _

"_Yes. Thank you." _

Santana still couldn't believe that they even threatened to drop her. She wasn't too worried though, she had plenty of time to heal, all she had to do now was figure out where she was going to stay.

First she wanted to go back to her apartment to see if there was anything that she could salvage, so she hailed the nearest taxi and went straight there.

It was clear to Santana when she arrived that there was no way in hell she was getting into that building. The police had the area blocked off from the public. When Santana stepped out of the taxi and looked up at her former home that she realised just how severe the whole situation was and how close she had come to actually dying. Her home was gone, along with everything that she owned. Tears pricked at her eyes as she knew that coming back here had been a lost cause. She had not been ready to see it yet and suddenly everything came pressing down on her. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and she couldn't even do that.

Where was she going to stay? A hotel would be the easiest option but she knew as soon as she checked in someone would reveal to the press where she was staying. Santana also didn't have many actual friends in the city that she would feel comfortable enough randomly calling up and asking to stay.

So Santana slumped her shoulders in defeat and began to wander aimlessly in one direction, hoping that inspiration would come to her eventually. Santana had only gotten about a block away when it started to lash rain but she couldn't even bring herself to care. Her day was already as bad as it could get, a little rain wasn't going to change that. Then her thoughts turned to the one ray of hope that had been in her day. She hadn't thought about her since she had arrived at the hospital, simply because she was too busy being checked out and thinking about what she was going to do but now that she was in her head Santana couldn't take her mind off her. Brittany.

It normally took Santana a long time to feel comfortable around people but Brittany just appeared in her personal bubble and wasn't going anywhere soon. Brittany had saved her life and had been chivalrous and modest about it the whole time. Brittany hadn't gotten annoyed at her when she refused to climb onto the dresser. Only now did Santana realise that she could have killed them both with her stubbornness. Santana couldn't even begin to understand why she had trusted Brittany so much and why she felt good when Brittany seemed genuinely worried about her leg. Santana didn't even go near thinking about the staring she had done when Brittany took her helmet off. That was going to be boxed away and analysed at a later time.

Then a wave of sadness washed over Santana when she remembered that she had no way of contacting Brittany. Hell, she didn't even know her last name.

With these sad thoughts Santana came to the conclusion that she should probably get in out of the rain. So when she came across a cosy looking diner that she could shelter in for a while she immediately took the opportunity to step inside.

…

**Brittany's pov.**

Brittany is up and out of her seat in a heart beat.

"Oh my god," she gasps at Santana as she swiftly makes her way over to her while shrugging out of her jacket, "are you ok?"

Santana looks at her wide eyed and trembling from the cold. Brittany was the last person she expected to see. Brittany puts her hands on her shoulders and slowly pulls Santana's saturated jacket off. She throws it back into the booth she had been sitting in and turns back to Santana. Brittany looks into Santana's eyes as she wraps her own jacket around the freezing Latina's shoulders, trying to gauge whether or not she is ok as she is yet to get a response from her.

Santana shudders as Brittany's hands begin to rub up and down her arms trying to generate some warmth. She lets Brittany guide her over to a booth and sits down quietly, completely dazed by what was going on. This is the second time in one day that this stranger has come to her rescue. She knows that this time around she is in a less dangerous situation but somehow she feels that emotionally Brittany just saved her from a lot.

Santana looks up and sees Brittany returning with two cups of coffee. Brittany places it in front of her and Santana wraps her hands around the cup gratefully, relishing in the warmth that seeps into her hands.

"Thank you," Santana finally croaks out.

"Finally," Brittany chuckles, "I thought you had gone mute on me there for a second. You had me worried." Santana smiles at the thought that Brittany was worried about her.

"Sorry, just a bit confused. I didn't think I would see you again so soon, or ever for that matter and as you can probably tell, I've been having a rough night." Santana smirks and gestures down at her drenched clothes.

"What were you doing walking around in the rain at this time of night anyway? Shouldn't you still be in the hospital?" Brittany asks her pensively, furrowing her eyebrows at her.

"I managed to make the doctors see things my way." Brittany quirks an eyebrow at her.

"Is that so?" Brittany asks cheekily.

"Mmhmm," Santana hums, "but I'm not telling you how I did it, that's my secret."

"I'm sure I'll think of some way of getting it out of you," Brittany murmurs as she brings her coffee up to her mouth to take a sip.

Santana laughs and shakes her head. How can this girl make her feel so much better so quickly? She has a thousand and one things to be worrying about and yet not one of them seems important now that she is with Brittany.

"So what are you doing here so late? I thought you would be at home resting after a long day of saving lives."

Brittany shrugs.

"Sometimes it can be hard to wind down after a day like today. So I like to come here for some chill out time and to hang with my mom." Brittany nods towards the counter where Brittany's mom is pouring coffee for a customer.

Santana smiles.

"This is your mom's place? That's great. I will have to stop by more often in the hopes of running into you. You have a knack for making my day go much better."

Brittany blushes; she was just thinking about how much better Santana had made her day.

Suddenly Brittany's mom walks over to their table and stands beside Brittany.

"Well now Brittany aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Brittany looks flustered for a second but quickly regains her cool.

"Yeah of course. Mom this is Santana. Santana this is my mom, Susan."

Santana smiles widely and holds her hand out for Susan to shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Susan." Santana says politely. Susan waves a hand at Santana and scoops her up in a big bear hug.

"Oh please Santana, if you're a friend of Brittany's then you get a hug! None of this handshake nonsense."

Santana looks surprised but is quick to return the very loving and motherly hug she was receiving. It had been a long time since she had gotten one of those, so long that she had forgotten what they had even felt like.

Brittany sank down into her seat, slightly embarrassed by her mother smothering Santana but she knew nothing could be done about it; her mom had always been like this.

"So how do you two know each other?" Susan asks enthusiastically.

"Your daughter here saved my life just today." Santana stated proudly before Brittany could say anything.

Susan's head swivels to look at Brittany with incredulity.

"Did she now? Well that's my Britty, saving lives like it's nobody's business."

Brittany blushes with embarrassment.

"I hope everything is ok with you dear?" Susan continues, looking at Santana with sympathy.

"Not really," Santana shrugs, "my apartment is pretty much destroyed, along with all my belongings. I don't even know where I'm going to stay tonight." Santana laughs nervously, her predicament once again coming to the forefront of her mind.

"Well why don't you just stay with Brittany for a while?!" Susan suggests animatedly.

Brittany's mouth drops open in shock.

"Don't listen to her Santana. I'm sure there are plenty of places you are considering going to, please don't feel like you have to…"

"Ssh Brittany it's perfect!" Susan continues, completely oblivious to Brittany's obvious distress. "You have a spare room and everything!"

"Mom! Stop! Santana obviously has better places to go, stop making her uncomfortable." Brittany looks over to Santana, waiting for her to confirm what she is saying.

Santana is looking down at her hands as she fidgets with the handle on her cup. When she looks up Brittany realises that she has tears in her eyes.

"Actually I don't really have a plan at all. I don't really have anywhere to go. I was going to just check into a hotel but I really don't feel like being alone, today has just been so much that the thought of being around strangers right now is really overwhelming"

Brittany's heart breaks in two when she sees a tear slowly glide down Santana's cheek and drop down onto the table. Brittany instinctually reaches her hand out and places it on Santana's. Santana gasps and looks up at Brittany through glistening eyes.

"Please don't take this the wrong way Santana because I am perfectly ok with you staying with me for as long as you need but I am practically a stranger to you too." Brittany is saddened by it but it was true.

Santana turns her hand and holds onto Brittany's with a firm but gentle grip.

"I know but you don't feel like one." Santana says as she looks at Brittany pleadingly, hoping that Brittany feels the same way.

Brittany smiles warmly at Santana and nods in understanding.

"That's settled then," Susan says jovially with a little clap, "looks like you two are going to be roomies for a while!"

...

**So there you have it and I hope you enjoyed it! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Sorry for the delay in posting this! I was sick and college stuff so I've had half of it written for ages but I wanted to write the rest rather than give you all a half chapter :) Anyway apologies for that :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

**Chapter 3**

It's five minutes into the short journey home to Brittany's house and a silence has settled between them. Brittany glances at Santana who is gazing out the window and wonders whether or not she should fill the silence. Her thoughts went back to the ordeal that Santana had been through that day and was astounded at how well she was taking it all. Up until now Brittany felt that Santana was taking everything in her stride. While fires may no longer have an affect on Brittany, she knows what they can do to regular people. Brittany frowns as she looks back to the road and absentmindedly turns on the radio. If she couldn't fill the silence with words then she would have to settle for some music.

Brittany's Florence and the Machine album comes on. Santana looks at the radio and smiles gently and her tense stature seems to fade. Santana realises that she may have been tenser than she thought.

"This is a great album," she murmurs before humming along to the tune.

Brittany smiles, "It's one of my favourites."

They hold eye contact for a moment before Brittany has to turn her attention back to the road. Santana examines Brittany's profile, she can tell that she is tired, her face has a slightly worn aspect to it but she glows with an eternal happiness that Santana has never seen in anyone before which gives her features a youth that most women would die for.

Brittany grins as Santana seems to get lost in the music as her humming gets gradually louder until she is fully singing along under her breath.

"So you're a singer," Brittany states as she taps her fingers on the steering wheel.

Santana simply nods, not feeling the need to offer more information; she figures that anything she says Brittany will already know anyway. Most people she meets tend to know every little detail of her life.

"What do you sing? Anything I might know? I'd never heard of you before I saw the news this evening." Brittany chuckles nervously, afraid that Santana might be hurt that she hasn't listened to her music before.

Santana raises her eyebrows and smiles. It was refreshing when people had no preconceptions of her.

"It's mostly chart stuff but if you haven't heard it yet then don't bother, it isn't that great but it sells." Santana grimaces sadly and looks down at her lap.

"Are you not happy that you have fans that adore your music and that you're living your dream?" Brittany asks quizzically.

"I love my fans but I often wonder if they would support me if I made the type of music that I wanted to and trust me, the dream? It's not all it's cracked up to be." Santana's tone is steely and Brittany can tell that she has touched a nerve so she decides to drop the topic.

"At least you get to take a break from it all for a while," Brittany says tentatively, not sure if that was what Santana wanted to hear.

Santana sighs and drops her shoulders. Brittany is worried that she has upset her more until Santana nods and smiles at her.

"A break that I could not be more grateful for, despite the circumstances that brought it about." There is a twinkle in Santana's eyes that suggests that she is more than pleased with the situation that she has landed in. Brittany is glad to see it there because she feels exactly the same way.

….

Brittany pulls in and parks in the garage on the ground floor of her apartment block. Santana steps out of the car and realises that she is in some sort of warehouse.

"Seriously? Are you going to murder me or something because this looks like the perfect scene for a horror movie." Santana looks around bewildered, half expecting Brittany to jump out at her from the shadows. She knows that Brittany wouldn't really do that but this place was creepy enough to make her think that it could happen. Santana hears a chuckle from the other side of the car.

"I'm not kidnapping you silly. This is just where I park my car, we take the lift up to my apartment." Brittany beckons for Santana to follow her to the lift in the corner of the warehouse.

"Are you sure? Because I'm half expecting you to turn around and bind me up any moment now." Santana jokes, holding her wrists together for Brittany to tie up.

"As kinky as that sounds," Brittany winks playfully, "I don't think that will be necessary."

Santana begins to blush at Brittany's suggestive tone and thanks the lord that blushing wasn't obvious on her tanned skin. Santana just laughs along and tries to stop wondering why she was blushing in the first place.

Brittany presses the button on the elevator and the grate slides open. They step inside and Brittany closes the grate behind them.

"This is one massive elevator." Santana observes with amusement.

"Technically it's a storage elevator. This whole building used to be for storage until I converted it but I liked the elevator so I left it the way it was."

The elevator stops on the first floor and leads them out into a dimly lit hallway. Brittany walks over to the nearest door and takes her keys out of her pocket.

Brittany doesn't feel half as weird as she probably should letting a near stranger into her home. Oddly enough she feels slightly nervous, she wants Santana to like the home that she is staying in and to feel comfortable here.

Brittany gives Santana a tight lipped smile and lets the door swing open. Standing back a bit she gestures with her right hand for Santana to go into the apartment. Santana ducks her head slightly and gently brushes by Brittany.

The first thing Santana notices is that Brittany's apartment is nothing like what hers was. It's a million times better. Once you walk in the door of the apartment you are in the living room but Santana has no time to notice the eclectic mix of furniture or the unicorn painting hanging above the mantelpiece or what appeared to be a two-tonne cat sitting in a bean bag in the corner of the room because her eyes were instantly drawn to the windows facing her on the far side of the room.

With wide eyes Santana walked over to the windows that started at waist height and continued all the way up to the top of the high ceiling. The entire side of Brittany's apartment were windows. Santana stood next to the wide window ledge and instead of looking out at the view, Santana inspected the numerous photos of family and friends that Brittany had in all their different and unique frames.

Brittany watches as Santana takes in her new surroundings and tries to figure out why she is so nervous. As Santana crosses the room to the windows, the glow from the streetlights outside that is streaming in creates a halo around her petite frame and Brittany's breath is taken away and she was pretty damn sure that she didn't want it back. Brittany gazes at this wonderful person that she hardly knows standing in her living room and finally feels like her home is now complete. Brittany gasps slightly, in awe of Santana's effortless beauty.

Santana's head snaps around at the sound and she quickly places the photo she had been admiring back on the ledge.

"Did you say something?" Santana asks curiously.

"It was just a cough," Brittany says as she shakes her head vigorously in denial, "how do you like it?"

Santana takes a deep breath, almost trying to absorb the very essence of the apartment.

"I really love it Brittany," she sighs contentedly. Brittany lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she sees the genuine truth practically ebbing from Santana.

"Well you can get the full tour tomorrow but I take it you want to get straight to bed?"

"Yes please, I'm exhausted." Santana looks around, waiting for Brittany to lead the way.

"Come on, let's go get you some pyjamas." Brittany opens a door to the right of the sitting room and leads them down a corridor. She opens a door to her left and walks into what Santana assumes is her bedroom. Santana stands patiently in the doorway waiting for Brittany to get back to her.

"No need to stand over there, I need to measure these against you to see if they will fit, although I doubt anything will be perfect," Brittany calls over to Santana from her dresser.

Santana admires the colourful bedspread and the rainbow painted onto one of the walls. When she is standing next to Brittany she begins to feel a little awkward as the bizarre nature of what was happening set in. Here she was in a near stranger's home, letting said near stranger pick out pyjamas for her. It was ridiculous, why didn't she just check herself into a hotel. Santana was letting her mind run away with these thoughts until Brittany looked up at her and reached out to take Santana's hands to place the pyjamas in her arms.

That one glance and that reassuring touch was all Santana needed to know that she had made the right decision and that her life had suddenly taken a turn for the better. Santana couldn't feel anxious or nervous or upset around Brittany. It was like she was able to instantly change her mood for the better.

"Your bedroom is just across the hall," Brittany says as she points out the door to the door opposite them, "go try those on and let me know how they fit."

Slightly dazed, Santana makes her way out of the room and goes into her own. Santana familiarises herself with what was to be her bedroom for the foreseeable future. It was pretty basic but spacious at the same time and would have everything that she needed.

Brittany takes Santana's absence as an opportunity to put on her own pyjamas. Putting on her matching duck pyjamas of shorts and a t-shirt, Brittany finally felt comfortable. Brittany hears the door across the hall open and turns to see Santana standing in her doorway fidgeting with the end of the t-shirt she had given her. Brittany's jaw dropped and she quickly had to try and compose herself. Brittany was glad for the dim lighting because she could feel a distinct heat rising up her neck and onto her face.

The pyjamas she had given Santana were definitely too big on her but they were the best that she could do. The real problem was that the only word that Brittany could think to use to describe Santana in her clothes was "hot."

"Em...they fit fine," Santana murmurs gently, "thanks again."

"That's great! Well umm…goodnight!" Brittany stutters hastily as she gives Santana an awkward wave and rushes to close her bedroom door so that she can try and remove the sight of Santana in her pyjamas from her mind. Brittany face palms herself at how lame and rude that was of her but she thought it would be even weirder to go back out and give her a proper goodnight.

That is until she hears a faint knock on her door and she is out the door so fast that she didn't even give Santana time to step back and she has bumped into her and nearly sent her sprawling to the floor. Except that she hasn't fallen to the floor because she had swiftly caught Santana by the waist and had pressed her against her to make sure that she was steady.

Brittany quickly realises how close they are and that she is literally clinging to Santana so she loosens her grip a bit and Santana steps back but only a little, she is very much still in Brittany's personal space. Santana looks up at Brittany through long, dark lashes. All she wants to do is let Brittany know once again just how grateful she is for everything that she has done.

Drawing a blank and not being able to come up with anything else she leans in and wraps Brittany up in a hug in an attempt to convey how much she appreciates what Brittany is doing for her.

While a little stunned, Brittany understands the sentiment and slowly wraps her own arms around Santana's back and tries not to make it obvious that she is inhaling the scent of Santana's hair as she leans down and rests her nose on the top of her head. No words need to be spoken in this moment and with one final squeeze Santana unravels herself from Brittany and has gone back into her room.

Brittany collapses onto her bed within seconds and falls asleep knowing that she is in trouble because she is falling for this stranger and falling hard.

…..

Santana wakes early from a fairly fitful night's sleep. The bed was comfortable and everything but she just couldn't keep memories of the fire out of her dreams or nightmares more like. Santana swings her legs out of the bed and pads over to the mirror. Seeing herself in Brittany's pyjamas makes her smile. How is it that someone else's pyjamas can be ten times more comfortable than your own? Her pyjamas were one of the things that she thought she would miss but apparently not, these even smell better. Santana mentally tells herself to ask Brittany what detergent she uses. These pyjamas are probably the only reason she got any sleep at all.

Santana wanders out into the hall and into the living room. The clock on the wall says that it's 8am. It hits her that Brittany may have gone to work already and that she could be alone in her apartment all day. Santana is strangely disappointed at the thought that she might not see the blonde until much later in the day. Not really seeing much else to do, Santana figures that she should get acquainted with the kitchen. Santana laughs and shakes her head as soon as she walks in because everything she discovers about the blonde is convincing her that she is the most sensational person on earth. Instead of having a regular old dining table, Brittany has a picnic table. Santana finds that this is a perfectly reasonable thing for Brittany to have in her kitchen; she is actually surprised that she didn't see it coming.

Santana glides her fingertips along the grooves in the table as she walks around to the other side of the kitchen. A coffee is definitely in order. Santana is dismayed to find that Brittany doesn't have any coffee. However, instead of being irritated like she normally would be, she thinks it makes sense. A person as bubbly as Brittany does not need anymore caffeine in their system. While Brittany may not have any coffee, Santana does find that she has an extensive range of different flavours of tea. Santana feels like she is learning so much about this wonderful person just from being in their home for less than a day. Brittany is clearly creative, experimental and likes to take risks if some of these flavours of tea are anything to go by…liquorice? Who even does that?

Santana settles for a chai tea. When she is getting the milk her stomach does a weird squirmy thing when she sees the vast number of duck magnets stuck on the fridge. She thinks it's…cute? There is really no other word that comes to mind. Santana potters around the kitchen cupping both hands around her mug of tea as she looks around. There is a door at the back of the kitchen that she had not noticed when she came in before. It was probably just a storage cupboard but Santana was feeling particularly nosy so she went to open it.

Santana is surprised when she finds a staircase and is unsure whether she should climb them or not. While she knows it is probably just an office or an attic that awaits her at the top of the stairs, curiosity gets the better of her and before she knows it she is slowly clambering up the stairs being careful not to spill her tea as she goes.

…

As Brittany slowly comes out of her slumber she remembers that she is no longer alone in her apartment and jolts out of bed. Brittany skips into the kitchen, assuming that if Santana is up, that is probably be where she will be. Finding the kitchen deserted she figures that Santana must still be asleep.

This was her opportunity to make a good first impression as a roommate. Brittany quickly gets to making French toast with bacon and maple syrup. She hopes that she can get it finished before Santana wakes up even though there is a good possibility that the smell of the food cooking would wake her anyway.

Brittany is pleased with how the breakfast came out. Normally she does not have the concentration required for cooking but she was determined to get this right for Santana and she didn't burn a single piece of food or make a giant mess in the kitchen. Brittany assembles two plates of food on a tray accompanied with two glasses of orange juice. She then makes her way out to Santana's room only pausing for a second outside her door to contemplate whether she should knock or just walk straight in. Brittany shrugs her shoulders and opts for just walking right in. Brittany skilfully opens the door with her elbow and backs herself into the room. Turning around, she finds that the room is empty, she even checks behind the door in case Santana had heard her coming and had decided that she wanted to play hide and seek but there was no one there.

When Brittany walks back into the kitchen she notices that the stairs' door is slightly ajar and guesses that Santana must be upstairs.

Brittany walks out onto the cool tiles on the opposite of the door at the top of the stairs, instantly spotting Santana at the far side of the garden looking at the view of the city. Brittany lets out a sigh of relief. The irrational part of her brain had momentarily been convinced that she had left her.

Santana turns around when she hears the tray being put down on the table. Brittany smiles up at her and is glad to see that Santana has helped herself to some tea; she would have been upset if Santana had been up for ages by herself and felt that she could not help herself to whatever she wanted.

As Santana begins to walk over, Brittany sits down on the lawn chair and puts Santana's plate of food across from her on the other side of the table.

Santana had wanted to immediately compliment Brittany on her roof garden, it was like she had her own private paradise on her roof, there had been so many things she wanted to say she thought she was going to have to make a list but everything just slipped out of her mind when she saw that Brittany had made her breakfast. Could this woman be any more perfect?

"You didn't have to do all this," Santana insists as she sits down with Brittany.

"I wanted to. We're roomies now, I want us to get along and I wanted you to have a good first breakfast here." Brittany answers bashfully.

"I don't think you need to worry about that," Santana says as she digs into her food.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asks curiously.

"Can't you feel it? We hardly know each other yet we seem to fit perfectly, we are going to be the best roommates." Santana curses herself internally for how dorky that sounded but apparently Brittany was happy to hear it because she did a bouncy little happy dance in her chair.

"I totally agree," Brittany says as she nods along reassuringly.

"These are delicious by the way," Santana manages to grumble out around mouthfuls.

Brittany giggles as Santana gets maple syrup on the corner of your mouth. Santana looks up and quirks an eyebrow as if to ask why she was laughing.

"You've got a little something…" Brittany points to the corner of her own mouth.

Santana ducks her head in embarrassment and pokes her tongue out to clear it up. Brittany had thought it was cute up to that point, her eyes focused in on the pink tongue that swiped along her bottom lip and Brittany couldn't help but follow it's progress until it had successfully licked up the maple syrup and Santana was humming contentedly.

"I'm sorry, look at me getting food all over myself, I'm such a mess. I'd say that was so attractive."

Brittany just laughs because she is afraid of what she might say if she does anything else.

"So what are you up to today?" Santana asks hesitantly, she doesn't want Brittany to feel like she has to hang around with her or that she can't do her own thing.

Brittany looks shy all of a sudden.

"Well I have a few days off actually," Brittany murmurs as she scratches the back of her head, "and I thought maybe we could just chill out today to, you know, let you recover and then tomorrow we could go shopping since you have no clothes or anything?"

Santana decided then and there that a nervous Brittany is the cutest thing she has ever seen. Brittany starts to look worried at her lack of response.

"That sounds perfect Brittany." Santana states warmly.

Brittany starts to bounce with excitement in her seat.

"Ok so after this we can go downstairs and pick movies and eat ice-cream and just stay in our pjs all day long."

Brittany's excitement is so infectious that Santana is nearly hopping in her own chair.

"Cool, as long as I can shower first. I feel horrible"

"Oh, yeah, yeah of course."

"Well Brittany," Santana says as she raises her glass of orange juice, "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Brittany raises her own glass and they clink them together and smile at each other.

"I couldn't agree more," Brittany says before they both take sips of the juice.

The word friendship doesn't sit right with either of them because this feels like the start of something much more than that for both of them but neither of them say a thing as they bask in the happy moment they are sharing together.

...

**So that's chapter 3! Hope you enjoyed it! I'm gonna put my tumblr on this again, I tried it on the first chapter and I do believe I made a right mess of it :P so here it goes, you can follow me on tumblr at freakingcharming-limaheights .tumblr .com :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**So here is chapter 4! Sorry about the wait between chapters, I wasn't sure which way I wanted this to go but hopefully you will be happy with what I have written. Just want to say thank you to everyone that reviewed, followed and favourited the story, it really means a lot and really motivates me to write more :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

**Chapter 4**

The past few days had been the best that Brittany could remember. There had been no awkwardness between her and Santana and it became clear to Brittany that Santana had seamlessly woven herself into the fabric of her everyday life. Brittany had taken Tuesday and Wednesday off from work so that she could spend time with Santana as she settled into the apartment and recovered from the accident.

They had literally spent every waking moment together. After their breakfast together, Brittany had cleaned up while Santana showered. Then they drove to a nearby mall so that Santana could pick up some clothes and other necessities.

Brittany loved the side of Santana that she discovered that day. It seemed that she was able to let herself go. When Santana had bought what Brittany could only consider to be enough clothes to last someone a lifetime, Santana wanted to have some fun. Santana had dragged Brittany into one of the changing rooms with her. Brittany had immediately gotten flustered and tried to duck back outside but Santana pushed an evening dress that she had picked out into her hands and begged her to try insanely over priced dresses on with her. Brittany remembered nodding bashfully as she left to go try it on in the next cubicle. Brittany shook her head at herself as she put the dress on. It had been a very long time since she had messed around like this just for fun.

Brittany looked at herself in the mirror and smoothed the creases out of the gown. She had never worn a dress like this in her life; her lifestyle didn't call for it. Brittany couldn't help but imagine a life where she did have to wear dresses like this and walk down red carpets. It also didn't take long for her to imagine a certain Latina on her arm, getting their photos taken together and sending each other loving glances.

Brittany was brought out of her daydream when a knock on the door told her that Santana was ready. Brittany opened the door and slowly dragged her eyes up Santana's body. Santana had chosen a sleek yet flowing red number for herself that accentuated her perfectly. Brittany's mouth dried up as she tried to think of something to say to the goddess in front of her but she also started to feel embarrassed because here she was dressing up, pretending to be someone like Santana when Santana was the real deal. Brittany didn't normally feel self-conscious but she was really out of her comfort zone and Santana was making it difficult to think straight.

"You look breathtaking." Brittany had managed to sigh out.

Santana never heard her though; she was too busy drinking Brittany in. Santana had to make a conscious effort to pick up her jaw from where it lay on the floor. Santana had known that Brittany was pretty and that her body would be fit; she was a fire-fighter after all, but she hadn't been expecting Brittany to be the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. The slit along the right leg of the dress showed just how long her legs were and the electric blue colour made Brittany's eye pop in a way that Santana had never seen before.

Santana shook herself out of it and smiled at Brittany. She pulled Brittany out of the changing room by the hand and stood them in front of one of the mirrors. Santana snuck her hand around Brittany's waist and squeezed her hip comfortingly; she could tell that Brittany was a little uncomfortable. That only added to her cuteness level though. Brittany couldn't even look at herself in the mirror and kept looking down at her hands. The tingly feeling that had erupted on her hip where Santana's hand was placed was also another distraction that she chose to focus on.

"Look at us." Santana had urged her enthusiastically.

Santana looked into the mirror with pride. She and Brittany were complete opposites yet they fit perfectly. Santana couldn't remember anybody looking better beside her. It filled her up with warmth and as their eyes met in the mirror they both broke out into smiles and began to laugh throatily. They fell about the place laughing while still holding onto each other. They seemed to have both realised at the same time how crazy it was that they were standing arm in arm in evening gowns.

Once they had recovered Santana turned to Brittany, held onto her forearms and looked up into her eyes.

"Thank you for doing this with me, I can't remember the last time I laughed like this." Santana grinned happily as her breathing slowed down to a normal pace.

"I know what you mean. I haven't had anyone that I have felt comfortable with to just let go in a long time." Brittany said as she nodded along in agreement.

After their clothes shopping they moved on to pick up some groceries. Brittany wanted Santana to get whatever food she wanted for the apartment as she knew that it was highly likely that they wouldn't like all the same things.

Brittany pushed the trolley around the store as Santana zipped back and forth from the shelves picking up anything that caught her eye. As Brittany was learning that Santana had a sweet tooth, their shopping trip was cut short. Brittany had noticed two men at the end of the aisle, talking in hushed whispers and pointing at Santana as she was stretching up to get some cereal off the top shelf. Even though Santana was wearing a tracksuit and had aviators on, she was pretty sure that they had recognised who she was.

"San!" Brittany stage-whispered.

Santana turned to Brittany quickly, smiling to herself at the nickname that Brittany had used on her.

"Yeah?"

"Don't look now but I think we have company of the paparazzi kind." Brittany nodded to the end of the aisle.

Santana's smile faded and her face appeared worn.

"Here," Brittany reached into her pocket and took out the keys of the car, "they don't know that we've spotted them. Go back down the way we came and wait for me in the car. I'll finish this up and I'll meet up with you as soon as I can."

Santana took the keys from Brittany and nodded.

"I'll see you at the car."

Brittany had been disappointed that their shopping trip had been cut short but she was glad that she had also managed to get Santana out without the paparazzi taking any photos.

…..

By Thursday they had settled into a routine with each other. They got up, ate breakfast together and spent the day hanging out. It was light and easy. Brittany still felt that she didn't really know Santana yet but she was getting there. Every moment they spent together was easier and friendlier. Santana didn't feel like a visitor in her home anymore; this was Santana's home now too.

However, there had been a couple moments between them that Brittany couldn't really analyse for herself. There was this charged energy between them in certain moments. For instance, they had been in the kitchen making lunch together on Wednesday and Santana had opened the press to get the peanut butter out. When Brittany saw that it was too high for her to reach she had instinctively walked up behind Santana and reached up over her head to get it for her. It wasn't until Brittany had her hand on the jar that she realised that her whole body was pressed up against Santana's back. Santana had stopped trying to reach the jar and had turned her head slightly to watch Brittany as she did it for her.

As Brittany handed Santana the jar she noticed Santana looking at her with an expression that she had only seen a couple times before but they had never been this close together when she had seen it. Santana had always been looking at her from across the room or from behind a magazine she was reading. It was only ever there for a second and Brittany didn't know what it meant but it was her favourite of Santana's expressions. It was like she was letting all of her barriers down and allowing Brittany to see who she really was because in those moments she was also trying to figure out just who Brittany was too.

This time the look lasted longer and Santana seemed to have forgotten all about the peanut butter until Brittany couldn't hold Santana's intense gaze anymore and glanced at the jar in her hand, distracting Santana. Santana had sighed and breathed out a thank you as she turned back to make her sandwich. Brittany stood back and ran her hands through her hair, momentarily gripping at the roots in frustration. Brittany thought she was going to spontaneously combust if Santana kept looking at her like that.

By this point Brittany knew that there was no sense in denying to herself that she had a crush on Santana. The question was: what was she going to do about it? These moments they had made her feel like Santana felt like there was something between them as well but they were fleeting and she never received any verbal signs from Santana that maybe she was feeling the same way.

There was another moment that evening while they were watching a film before bed. From the moment that they had first sat down to watch TV together after their shopping trip on Tuesday after their shopping trip Brittany had learnt that Santana could not sit still unless she was as close to her as possible. Santana had noticed it herself and apologised saying that she just wasn't used to living with someone else and that apparently her body liked having somebody else to sit next to and lean against. Brittany had assured her that she didn't mind but she could tell that Santana still tried to keep her distance from then on.

Santana usually failed at this though and they had both resigned themselves to the fact that Santana was a cuddler. However, Wednesday night proved to be different. Santana had fallen asleep during the movie and had decided that Brittany was her best option for a pillow. At first her head was simply resting on Brittany's shoulder but it didn't take long for her to snuggle closer. By the end of the movie Santana's head was in the crook of Brittany's neck, her left arm was draped over Brittany's torso and her feet were tucked in under Brittany's legs. Brittany had been tense for the best part of an hour. The closer Santana got, the harder it became for Brittany to just watch the movie. Brittany didn't know whether to put her arm around her or not. What if she woke up and asked why Brittany's arms were around her or why she hadn't told her to wake up and get off her? Brittany didn't think that she could explain to Santana that having her in her arms was something she had been dreaming about and that while she was uncomfortable, the thought of moving her was unbearable.

The movie had been over for ten minutes and Brittany still hadn't gotten up the courage to wake Santana up. Brittany eventually realised how ridiculous she was being and gently shook Santana's shoulder to wake her up.

Santana's hand that had been on Brittany's stomach moved up to rub at her tired eyes. Santana looked around for a moment until she became aware of her proximity to Brittany.

"I'm sorry," Santana mumbled as she leaned back, creating distance between them.

"No it's ok," Brittany assured her, "I only woke you because the movie was over and I thought you would like to sleep in your own bed, this couch isn't that comfortable for sleeping on."

"You're really comfortable." Santana said to her as she got up and stretched.

Brittany got up and stretched too and began to make her way to her bedroom. As they stood in the hallway between their bedrooms Brittany turned to Santana. "I'm like a teddy bear, what can I do?"

Brittany grinned cheekily at Santana and shrugged her shoulders. Brittany was happy to see that Santana found it amusing.

"Don't do anything; you can just be my teddy bear." Santana said as she stepped towards Brittany and reached her arms out. Brittany spread her arms out to let Santana in for a hug. As she wrapped Santana up in her arms and swayed them back and forth as if to emphasise her teddy bear hugging skills Santana held onto her tighter and whispered into her ear, "Goodnight Britt." Santana seemed reluctant to let go as she stepped back. They had never had this experience going to bed before. They had always been able to part ways casually but that night they looked at each other as if they were both expecting and wanting something more but neither of them had any idea how to get what they wanted.

"Night Santana," Brittany whispered to Santana as she stepped back and turned to go into her room. They sent each other one last smile before closing the doors to their respective rooms.

….

After a few hours sleep Brittany woke with a fright. She could have sworn that she heard Santana calling her. Looking at her alarm clock she saw that it was nearly 2am. Brittany shook her head; she was becoming so fixated with Santana that she couldn't even get a full night sleep without thinking about her so much that she woke up.

Brittany was just about to fall back asleep when she heard it again. It was a distressed murmur coming from Santana's room. Brittany was up and out of her bed so quickly that when she went bursting into Santana's room she didn't really know what she expected.

Santana was still asleep but she appeared fitful. She kept jerking and shaking her head. Every once in a while she would make a sound of distress and she even said Brittany's name once or twice.

Brittany rounded the bed and knelt down in front of Santana. Gently placing her hand on her shoulder she shook Santana.

Santana woke with a gasp and her eyes darted wildly around the room until they settled on Brittany. It was only then did she let out a sigh of relief.

"Brittany," she exhaled as she squinted her eyes at Brittany as if she were trying to hold back tears.

Brittany's heart broke at the little crack that she heard in Santana's voice. She moved her hand from Santana's shoulder to her hair and stroked it reassuringly.

"Hey, it's ok, I'm right here," Brittany cooed softly. "What happened?"

"It was just a nightmare," Santana said as she tried to shake the memories of it out of her mind.

Brittany watched her fingers playing with Santana's hair.

"Was it about the fire? I heard you call out my name." Brittany didn't want to make Santana feel uncomfortable but she knew that Santana would feel better if she got it off her chest.

"Oh God, that was out loud?" Santana grumbled as she raised her palm to her face in embarrassment, "I thought that was just in my head." Brittany shook her head and grimaced. "It was about the fire," she admitted. Brittany nodded along.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Brittany asked tentatively.

It took Santana a moment to answer because she was getting distracted by Brittany playing with her hair.

"Eh…no, not right now, maybe tomorrow."

"Do you want to try and go back to sleep or would you like a cup of tea?" Santana smiled at Brittany's kindness.

"I think I'll try and go back to sleep," Santana said with a conflicted look in her eyes.

Brittany could tell that there was something on Santana's mind but she didn't want to push her with anymore questions so she got up and made her way back over to the door. Just as she was about to say goodnight Santana called her back. Brittany turned around and saw that Santana was sitting up against the head board. Her arms were wrapped around her knees which she had brought up to her chest.

"Yeah?" Brittany asked.

"Would you um…," Santana fidgeted with the covers, "would you mind maybe staying in here with me tonight?" Santana raised her head and looked at Brittany with the most adorable puppy dog expression she had ever seen. It was filled with uncertainty and fear that Brittany would reject her but at that moment Santana really couldn't have cared less, she just really needed Brittany beside her in that moment.

Brittany gave Santana a sad smile and nodded her head.

"Of course I'll stay with you. I'd do anything to make you feel better, you must feel awful."

Santana didn't say anything in response; she just turned over and pulled back the duvet on the other side of the bed so that Brittany could hop in. Brittany's heart began to flutter once she realised what she had just agreed to but there was no going back.

Brittany moved to the side of the bed and climbed in, getting comfy under the duvet. When Brittany settled she looked up to see if Santana was asleep yet and saw that she was staring right at her. Brittany's cheeks began to burn under Santana's intense gaze. She was giving her that look again. The one that made Brittany feel like there was definitely something more than friendship going on between them. She was lying in bed with her for Christ's sake!

Santana reached her hand across and interlinked their fingers. Brittany looked down at their hands. It just felt so intimate and Santana's hands were so soft she couldn't form coherent thoughts and she was pretty sure that just lying there and staring at their hands was going to weird Santana out.

"Thank you for doing this for me Brittany."

Brittany looked back up at Santana and didn't see anything off with her so why should she feel off about it?

"Anytime," was the only thing that Brittany could think to say.

Santana chuckled lightly. Brittany didn't know why Santana was laughing and before she could figure it out she noticed Santana slowly leaning in closer to her. Brittany's breath caught in her throat when she felt Santana's breath on her face. Santana pressed her plump lips to Brittany's cheek and gave her a soft yet lingering kiss. Brittany's eyes closed on contact as she relished the feeling of Santana's lips on her skin even if it was only for a moment. When Santana pulled back she looked at Brittany's face and saw her eyes flutter open. Brittany smiled bashfully at Santana and she received a warm smile in return. With that Santana let go of Brittany's hand and turned over.

Simultaneously, both girls raised their hands to their faces. Santana brushed her fingers along her lips in wonderment. A simple kiss on the cheek had never raised so many questions in her mind before. Why had she felt the need to kiss Brittany, even if it was only on the cheek? Why did she linger like that? Did Brittany notice that she lingered? Would she have cared if she had lingered longer? Did she wish that she had lingered a little bit longer? Santana's thoughts began to race as she tried to sort through all these questions. Even though Santana hadn't been in a real relationship in a long time she still knew what it felt like to be in the early stages of falling for someone and the tingling on her lips and the butterflies in her tummy were definitely telltale signs. She just didn't know what to do with all this new information. She and Brittany had been getting along so well and even though she knew that she had felt an instant connection with the blonde she didn't realise that this was where it was headed. Where was it headed? The back of her mind seemed to be hinting at an answer that she wasn't ready to acknowledge quite yet. Although she knew with time that it would push itself to the forefront of her mind. Santana then slipped into a dreamless sleep allowing her mind to wonder about all these new thoughts.

Brittany had also fallen asleep but not before she had placed her hand to her cheek where Santana had kissed her and tried to burn the memory of the feeling into her mind.

…..

Brittany had felt bad having to leave Santana to go to work on Thursday morning. She knew that leaving Santana alone in the apartment was going to be hard but after the events of the night before she felt twice as bad leaving Santana alone in her own bed after she had asked Brittany to stay.

As a way of saying sorry Brittany had left Santana a note on her side of the bed. It simply read _Brittany slept here._ It also had a little arrow pointing to where she had been sleeping.

Brittany had been determined to get off work as early as she could that day. It had been a relatively slow day for the station which was a good thing but it also gave the others an opportunity to ask her about Santana. They had a field day once they found out that Santana was living with her. They made jokes and kept asking if she had accidently seen her naked and when she was going to 'tap that'.

With each question Brittany grew more and more irritated. Blaine had noticed that Brittany wasn't taking their jokes as well as she normally would have and told the others to lay off. Brittany had to remove herself from Puck's presence because she couldn't handle being around him anymore. Normally she found him funny but today he was relentless.

Brittany did have to concede however that she had earned quite the reputation for herself over the last couple months. Since breaking up with Sugar she had been more of a one night stand kind of girl and the guys at work had grown accustomed to asking her about her recent conquests. So it wasn't really their fault that they reacted to the news of Santana living with her the way that they did.

Of course as soon as Brittany's shift was due to be over they had a last minute call out. It had just been a small domestic fire but it was enough to put her behind schedule by two hours.

When Brittany finally gets out of work she picks up some Chinese take-out on the way home for her and Santana.

Brittany finds Santana in the roof garden again, this time on one of the loungers with a glass of wine and a book.

"Hey!" Brittany calls out happily.

Santana looks over in surprise.

"You're home! I didn't know if I should make dinner for you or if you would go out with work friends." Santana walks over to Brittany.

"I thought I was going to be home early but we got called out at the last minute so I got us some take-out on the way home." Brittany lifts the bag of food onto the table in confirmation.

"I can see that. It smells great." Santana begins to help putting out the food.

They sit down and begin to eat together. Santana pours Brittany a glass of wine and they talk about their days.

Santana stares at Brittany unawares as she eats. The setting sun shining through the trees dapple leaf shaped shadows across Brittany's face.

"It's really romantic up here." Santana states matter of factly.

Brittany nods slowly in agreement as she chews, not really sure where Santana is going with this.

"You and your girlfriend must have had some wonderful times up here." Brittany nearly chokes on the mouthful of rice she had been eating and has to take a large swig of wine to finally compose herself enough to respond to Santana's statement.

"What are you…how did you?" Brittany tries to ask.

"Relax, I was taking a look at your photos that you have up around the apartment and I found one of you with your arms around this girl. You seemed really happy with her. I take it your not still together otherwise you would have mentioned her."

Brittany likes that Santana is able to talk about this with her in such a cool manner, she was hoping that her sexuality wouldn't be an issue with the Latina.

"I was happy with her."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Her name was Sugar and she cheated on me."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." Santana berates herself for upsetting Brittany.

"No, it's ok. It was a while ago now, I'm over it. Actually if it weren't for her all of this wouldn't be here." Brittany gestures around at the garden. "I kinda used this as a project to distract myself."

"So you haven't had any romantic times up here then," Santana states with a smirk.

"This would be my first," Brittany winks.

Santana gasps playfully and they laugh along together. Brittany likes the cheeky flirting that they have going on but she doesn't know what it means.

"What about you? I take it you aren't seeing anyone or else you would be staying with them and not me." Brittany tries not to let on just how curious she is about this particular topic but she feels her grip on the stem of her wine glass tighten as she waits for Santana's reply.

"My label set me up with a few guys over the last couple of years. It was just for publicity really and none of them turned into anything serious. I guess I'm still waiting for the right person to come along."

"It sucks that your relationships were manufactured that way."

"Yeah but at least I'll know what the real deal feels like when I get it. So did you have any other relationships before Sugar?" Santana sips on her wine, realising how much she has had as a slight fuzziness creeps into her thoughts.

"I had a couple short-term boyfriends and girlfriends, nothing as committed as my relationship with Sugar." Santana quirks one of her eyebrows.

"So you're not exclusively into the ladies then?"

"Haha no I guess not. I'm kind of open with my feelings and let them decide, where they take me is where they take me." Brittany shrugs nonchalantly; she had never really put much thought into who she had dated, she had simply gone with what had felt right at the time.

"That's a beautiful way of looking at it."

"What about you? Have you only ever dated men?"

Santana hums in agreement and Brittany's heart sinks.

"I guess a relationship with a girl is just an opportunity that hasn't crossed my path in life yet." Brittany's heart rate picks back up and starts to hammer against her chest. There is hope.

"Yet, you say?" Brittany asks coyly.

"Well you never know…," Santana says suggestively as she looks up at Brittany through her dark lashes with a smouldering look, "I may just surprise us."

And with that Brittany's heart soars because she knows that she definitely has a chance with this woman.

...

**So there you go, I hope you enjoyed it! Not sure when I'll get the chance to put up the next chapter because I have exams but it shouldn't be too long :) I would also just like to say that Naya was the cutest thing ever on her ustream today! Thanks for reading. -Aisling.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Just want to say thank you for all the amazing reviews! The response to this story has really been great and is just making me want to write more and more and more :) I hope you enjoy chapter 5, these just seem to be getting longer and longer with every chapter :P Anyway I hope this helps with any bruised feels that anyone may have after Brittany's goodbye in the season finale :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

Chapter 5

Santana, as it turned out, was not a 'time-off' kind of person. Going on vacation was another thing entirely but being expected to just sit around, relax and get her strength back up, was not something she enjoyed doing. Santana liked to be active and have things to do.

That is why when she wakes up on Saturday morning and realises that she is going to be alone in the apartment with only Lord Tubbington for company until Brittany gets home that evening, she thinks that she might just go insane.

She was tired of watching movies and day-time TV, flipping through magazines and reading. At one point she even attempted to get Lord Tubbington to play with her but he just stared at her blankly and refused to move from his 'kitty cushion', as Brittany called it.

Santana had really been looking forward to hanging out with Brittany when she got home from work on Friday. Brittany had told her that she normally got home from work at around 8. In preparation for her return Santana had made fajitas, one of the few dishes that she could actually cook. By 9 pm Santana resigned herself to the fact that Brittany probably wasn't going to be back anytime soon. She supposed it was part and parcel of the unpredictable nature of Brittany's work. Santana ate by herself but still left the table set for Brittany so that she could heat it up for her when she got in.

However when Brittany got back at 11 she was so exhausted that she just gave Santana a wave and a brief, "goodnight," and immediately went to bed.

Santana's heart sank with disappointed, she knew it was late but she had still been hoping that Brittany would stay up and eat so that she could spend some time just talking to her. While Santana loved the apartment, her instant love for the place had not come from its character as she had originally presumed. It had come from Brittany. When Brittany left in the morning, she took the spirit of the place with her and as Santana watched her leave in the morning the urge to follow her out the door was almost unbearable.

Santana was determined for today to be different. It was the weekend and Brittany had the day off from work on Sunday, they could do anything. Santana gets out of bed, walks into the living room and sits down beside Tubbs. As she pets him she thinks of all the things that she and Brittany could do together.

Before she can come to any kind of conclusion she hears her phone going off in her room. When she checks it she sees that it's a message from Kurt. He was her personal stylist and one of the only people that she worked with that she could actually stand.

_Santana! I just got your new number from Will! I have been trying to get through to you all week to see how you are. Did you not think that I would be worried about you? Your apartment burned down for Christ's sake! It's like you have literally fallen off the face of the earth, no one even knows where you are! _

_I am however, willing to over look this fact if you promise to get your ass up and come out with me tonight. Tina has gotten us on the guest-list of one of the hottest clubs in NY, not that you need the guest-list though :P There's a whole group of us going and you better be there or I will personally hunt you down. _

_You better reply to this Lopez or there will be hell to pay. Xx_

_-Kurt. _

Santana smiled as she read the message. She hadn't realised how much she missed him. Thinking about it she had really taken a step back from the type of lifestyle she normally led. Usually a day never went by where she wasn't out at one event or another, making sure she was being seen in the right places by the right people. It was refreshing and yet she couldn't help but think that if it hadn't been for Brittany her life wouldn't have changed that much. She would have been back out in the public eye at the first chance she got. Brittany had really changed her priorities. Santana wanted to spend time with her and when Brittany had gone back to work she had wanted to be there when she got home. Santana had even begun to wonder what Brittany would think of her if she could see how she had behaved in the past. Her career was everything to her but Santana could feel herself beginning to revaluate what she found to be most important in her life.

Santana sent Kurt a quick reply.

_I'll be there :) Just text me the time and place. Oh and is it cool if I bring some friends?! x – S_

This is exactly the kind of opportunity that Santana needed. She and Brittany really needed to hang out together outside of the apartment. Santana could introduce Brittany to some of her friends. She was pretty sure that they would love her. All she had to do now was ask Brittany if she would be up for it.

Santana flicks through her contacts and presses on Brittany's name. Brittany had said that she wouldn't always have her phone on her at work but that Santana should feel free to contact her if she needed to. Santana holds the phone to her ear and waits for Brittany to pick up.

Suddenly, Santana hears the lyrics to Britney Spears' song '_Hold it Against me?' _playing from somewhere in the kitchen. Santana doesn't end the call until she has walked into the kitchen and can see that Brittany has left her phone on the picnic table. Santana sighs in frustration. She is pretty sure that Brittany would be up for going out but she can't just assume that and hop on Brittany as soon as she walks in the door telling her that they are going out.

Santana looks at the time. It's only 10 am. _Screw it _Santana thinks to herself and races off to her room to get dressed. Santana makes sure that she looks good without trying too hard, she can do that tonight if everything goes as planned. Grabbing Brittany's phone from the table and stuffing it in her bag she leaves the apartment, shouting a goodbye to Tubbs as she goes.

It only takes Santana ten minutes to get to the station once she manages to get a cab. Santana rolls her eyes once she gets there; she really could have walked, she had no idea that they lived that close to the fire station, although it made sense since Brittany worked there. It just showed how much she knew about the city.

Santana has hardly stepped into the front doors of the station before some guy with a squirrel on his head has jumped out of nowhere and was introducing himself.

"Hey there, I'm Puck," he says with a wink. Santana takes a moment to look at this guy. She thinks she can remember Brittany describing someone like this: muscular, pretty good-looking, Mohawk. Puck has his hand held out for Santana to shake. Santana reaches out and takes it.

"I'm…"

"Oh I know who you are, honey." Puck lifts Santana's hand up to his face and kisses the back of her hand. Santana rolls her eyes and attempts to discretely wipe the back of her hand on her pants. She didn't want to be outright rude to Brittany's co-workers but she had a feeling that a little rudeness wouldn't really stop this guy. Santana gives Puck a smile/grimace. "How can I help a pretty lady like yourself?" Puck's smile is cheeky and Santana can help but laugh at his obvious flirting.

"I'm looking for Brittany actually." Puck nods as if expecting as much.

"Brittany's actually out on a call right now but they should be back soon. I can bring you to the canteen and you can wait for her there." Puck gestures in the direction of the canteen and begins to lead the way there.

"Thanks." Santana follows Puck's lead.

Puck and Santana sit down at a table beside the windows in the canteen. This whole side of the room has glass windows that look out into the large garage space where the trucks get parked. None of them are there right now though.

Santana looks back at Puck and taps her fingers on the table. She's not really sure what to talk to him about.

"So, living with Brittany, what's that like?" Puck asks.

Santana's heart flips at the chance to tell somebody how much she is enjoying living with Brittany.

"Oh it's great! We get along really well. Britt is such a lovely person. I'm so grateful to her for taking me in."

"Yeah…_Britt_ seems to like living with you too. The girl never shuts up about you." Puck gives Santana a loaded look and Santana's eyebrows furrow.

"Really? I can't imagine what's so great about living with me."

"Well she hasn't had a roommate in a while; she just likes your company I suppose."

Santana was intrigued. Brittany spoke about her to her work friends?

"Did she mention anything specific?" Santana didn't really know what kind of answer she was expecting but she did know that she wanted to know exactly what the blonde thought of her.

"Well…," Puck begins but before he can answer two fire trucks pull into the garage.

Santana looks up just as Brittany lithely jumps down out of the cab. Santana's breath catches in her throat. The sight of Brittany in her uniform has her mesmerized. It's not like she had never seen Brittany in her uniform before; hell she had been wearing it when she saved her! But that experience had been so surreal that Santana hadn't really been able to focus all of her attention on Brittany, no matter how much she may have wanted to. Seeing Brittany in her uniform now though reminds Santana of just how flustered Brittany had made her that day.

Brittany's jacket hangs open and Santana can see the red suspenders that hold up her trousers. Her grey t-shirt with the station's crest on it has risen and Santana can see Brittany's toned midriff. Brittany takes off her helmet and shakes her hair out. Santana can see the black smudges of soot that adorn Brittany's face and chest. Santana feels herself getting flushed and senses the increase in her pulse and gulps. Brittany is utterly breath-taking and Santana stares at her shamelessly as she makes her way inside. Santana begins to move on auto-pilot and stands up from the table to go and meet Brittany when she walks in, completely forgetting about Puck.

Brittany's face, while at first confused, lights up at seeing Santana.

"What are you doing here?" she asks excitedly.

Santana takes a moment to organise her thoughts before she ends up blurting out abs as it seems to be all her brain can think of right now. She shifts her eyes up from the distracting body part and smiles at Brittany, hoping that she didn't notice.

"Phone! Eh apartment," Santana blurts and then instantly winces, "you left your phone in the apartment and I thought you might need it."

Brittany chuckles at how adorable she is as she stutters over her words and hastily tries to get the phone out of her bag.

"Oh thanks! You didn't have to go to the trouble though; I can live without my phone for a day."

Santana places the phone in Brittany's awaiting palm.

"I know but I wanted to talk to you about something anyway."

"Oh ok cool," Brittany says as she continues to smile at Santana, "but could we talk in the locker room? I really need to get out of these disgusting clothes."

Santana nods and together they walk back through the canteen and down the corridor to the women's locker room. Brittany stops at a locker that says _Pierce_ on it in bold letters. Brittany hangs her jacket up in her locker, turns around, and puts her foot on the bench and starts unlacing her boots.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight?" Santana rushes her words out quickly. Brittany pauses her actions for a second.

"Go out?" Brittany desperately needs Santana to define that for her.

"I really need to get out of the apartment and my friend Kurt texted me and said that we're on the guest-list for some club. You could even ask some of the guys to come if you think they would enjoy it. I think my friends will kill me if I say no but I'd really like for you to come too." Santana knows that she is rambling at this point and that she should just let Brittany speak but she is just so afraid that Brittany will say no.

Brittany stands up and looks at Santana.

"That sounds great, I'd love to go."

Santana's eyes light up and she sighs with relief.

"Yay!" Santana squeals and she does a little happy dance. She then throws herself into Brittany's arms without thinking. "We're going to have so much fun." Santana jumps back suddenly, "I have to go back and decide what I'm gonna wear!"

Brittany is still a little startled by the surprise hug but she catches Santana by the wrist. "Hang on," she says as she pulls Santana towards her, "you've got some soot on your face from hugging me." Brittany brushes her thumb along Santana's cheekbone. Santana bites her lip as tingles erupt all over her cheeks and she feels herself blush.

Brittany manages to get rid of the smudge with the second brush of her thumb but can't help going back for a third. She didn't know when she would get to touch Santana this intimately again. Brittany's eyes flick from her hand on Santana's cheek over to Santana's eyes which are staring back at her intensely. Brittany slowly lowers her hand and clears her throat. "I got it," she murmurs.

"Great," Santana says as she turns around quickly, "I'll see you later." Santana pauses at the door and looks back over her shoulder, "What time will you be back later?"

"I'll grab something to eat here so I don't have to make dinner, so I should be back around nine."

"Perfect, see you then."

…..

Santana had spent the rest of the day trying to decide on the perfect outfit for that evening. She had narrowed it down to two dresses. One made her boobs look spectacular but the other made both her boobs and her ass look pretty damn good. Deciding that the first might be a bit over the top in the cleavage department, she opts for the second dress. It's a deep green colour that complements her skin tone nicely. She wonders if Brittany will like it.

Santana had also picked up some wine on the way back from the station for her and Brittany to have before they went out.

Santana was just toying with what to do with her hair when she heard the door of the apartment open and close.

"Hey Britt, how was the rest of your day?" Santana calls out to Brittany from her room.

"It was pretty uneventful really," Brittany calls back, her voice getting closer. Brittany, seeing that the door is open, walks straight into Santana's room and examines the mess of clothes strewn about the room. "Please tell me you know what you're wearing, you've had all day to decide," Brittany jokes.

"Yes, I have actually," Santana states with finality and claps her hands together, "Do you know what you're wearing?"

"Not yet," Brittany shrugs, "but it won't take me long to decide, don't worry."

"Actually, if you haven't decided yet, I have a dress that I think would look amazing on you." Santana rummages in her closet for a moment and pulls out what appears to be a simple blue dress.

Brittany looks at it appraisingly. It is understated yet beautiful. Santana turns it around for Brittany to see the back and Brittany sees that it hardly has one. Nearly the entire back of the dress is cut out. Brittany immediately begins to shake her head in refusal.

"I'm not wearing that," Brittany says flatly. Santana misses the change in Brittany's tone and tries to persuade her, thinking that Brittany just has an issue with borrowing her clothes.

"Really, Britt, it's no problem and you'll look stunning."

"I said no, Santana."

Santana looks up and sees a stern expression on Brittany's face. What had she done wrong?

"I'm sorry, Britt. You probably had something of your own in mind and here I am trying to force you to wear something else." Santana can't believe that she is apologising, she never apologises. Brittany had just been rude to her and here she was saying sorry. Santana could tell that she had hit some sort of nerve with Brittany though so she just let it go. "I'm sure you'll look great no matter what you wear."

"Thanks for the offer," Brittany mumbles as she leaves.

Brittany felt bad for rejecting Santana so harshly like that. She knew that Santana couldn't possibly understand and didn't deserve to have Brittany's frustration taken out on her like that. Brittany shook her head and resolved to get things between them back to normal before they go out.

When Brittany is ready to go she goes to Santana's bedroom door. It's closed. She knocks on it gently and waits for Santana to tell her to come in. Santana opens the door and Brittany's heart skips a beat. Even though Brittany had agreed to go out it hadn't clicked with her what type of clothes Santana would be wearing and she most definitely wasn't prepared for it.

Santana's smoky eye make-up made her eyes shine brighter than Brittany had ever seen them and Brittany couldn't help but examine every inch of Santana's body with her eyes. Her hair was curled slightly and looked unbelievably soft.

Santana had a fresh bandage on her wounded leg. Brittany had almost forgotten about it because Santana had been wearing casual clothes around the apartment which had consisted of tracksuits and jeans.

"Are you ok to go out with that on?" Brittany asked with concern.

Santana was relieved to see that Brittany had gone back to normal and that she hadn't upset her too much.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Santana assured her.

It was Santana's turn to admire Brittany now. Santana was actually glad that Brittany had chosen to wear her own dress. Brittany was in a red dress that accentuated her perfectly. It didn't leave much to the imagination where cleavage was concerned and Santana found it hard to move her eyes away until she caught sight of Brittany's legs which went on forever. They were both in heels but Santana's were slightly higher so they were closer in height than they ever had been before. Brittany still had the edge though. Brittany's hair hung loose and wavy down her back.

"Brittany…" Santana whispered, "Where have you been hiding those legs?"

Santana winked and tried to make a joke out of it in an attempt to hide how taken she was by the blonde.

"These legs? Look at you Santana, you're a fricking goddess!" Brittany gestures at Santana's body as if to prove her point. Santana laughs and shakes her head. Brittany can see her mentally dismissing her compliment. Brittany steps forward and takes Santana's hand in her own. "No, really though, you look beautiful Santana," she says seriously.

Santana looks up at Brittany and smiles.

"You too, Britt."

Brittany smiles bashfully. She can feel it happening again. It's another one of those moments that just seem to keep happening recently. Brittany knows that she has feelings for Santana but the connection they have is too important to her to risk losing it.

"Oh I bought a bottle of wine for us to have before we go," Santana suddenly remembers and she quickly walks to the kitchen to pour them each a glass.

…..

With tummies warmed from the wine, they sit comfortably in the cab together on the way to the club.

As they are driving, Brittany sees the entrance to _Heat,_ the club they were meant to be going to.

"Hey Santana, isn't that where we're supposed to be going?"

Santana looks out Brittany's window.

"It is, but we are going in through the back entrance. If I get noticed at the general entrance we won't get any peace for the rest of the night. Once we're in there it's harder for people to tell who you are."

Brittany nods in understanding. "Will Puck and Blaine be able to get in ok?"

"I texted Kurt, their names are on the list now, don't worry about it."

When the cab stops at the back of the building there is a significantly smaller crowd. Santana gets out of the cab and holds her hand out for Brittany to take. Santana strides confidently towards the man on the door, not letting go of Brittany's hand. Santana was really in her element here and knew exactly how to manoeuvre her way through the crowd. She keeps her head down until she gets to the bouncer. He instantly recognises her and allows her to pass. He doesn't question Brittany either once he sees their joined hands. He knows better than to piss off a celebrity.

Once they're inside Brittany pulls Santana back by the hand.

"I thought we only got in here because our names were on some list?"

Santana waves her hand dismissively.

"That's just a courtesy. I could really show up anywhere with anyone and they would let me in."

"Fair enough." Brittany shrugs.

"Now let's go have some fun."

Brittany lets Santana pull her into the crowd.

….

The night had started out slow as Brittany and Santana got themselves drinks and waited in a booth beside the bar for their friends to show up. Kurt, Tina and Adam had shown up first.

Santana made the appropriate introductions and they all got to talking. When Tina, Kurt and Adam were in the middle of a conversation about something Santana couldn't have cared less about she turned to talk to Brittany.

Santana whispered to Brittany that Adam was Kurt's on again, off again boyfriend and that in her opinion really needed to take the hint and get lost. Kurt always felt bad for ending things and hurting Adam so they always seemed to end up back together for a short period of time.

After a while Puck and Blaine arrived. They settled into the group nicely and everyone seemed to be hitting it off; Kurt and Blaine in particular.

"Maybe this will finally be the end of Adam," Santana whispered into Brittany's ear.

Brittany took a sip of her drink and tried not to blush at the feeling of Santana's lips against her ear.

"I'm gonna go get another drink, want anything Britt?" Santana asks as she stands up.

"An appletini please," Brittany answers politely.

"Sure thing," Santana winks.

"Hey Santana, wait up I'll help you with those," Puck pipes up and dashes off to follow Santana.

Brittany can see Puck and Santana at the bar from where she is sitting in the booth. Even if Brittany didn't know Puck she would know just from looking at him that he was trying to hit on Santana right now. Brittany quickly downs the rest of her drink to calm her nerves. Puck is really starting to irritate her. He had been staring lustily at Santana ever since he had arrived and she didn't like it one bit.

Blaine notices Brittany's steely gaze and follows it to the bar. He puts his hand on her thigh.

"Brittany, chill out. You look like you're about to snap that glass in half."

Brittany places the glass back down on the table.

"Why does he have to hit on every girl that he sees?" Brittany grumbles angrily.

"It's Puck, Brittany. Did you expect anything less to happen?"

"He looks at her like she's a piece of meat!"

"You've been looking at her quite a bit too Brittany," Blaine points out.

"That's not the same," she exclaims, "I look at her like…"

"Like what, Brittany? What's the end of that sentence?" Blaine teases.

"You shut your mouth Blaine Anderson," Brittany says to him as she gives him a withering stare. "I'm gonna go dance, you coming?"

"But Santana just went to get you a drink!"

"Yeah, well, she doesn't look like she is going to be back anytime soon." Brittany glances at the bar again and they're still there chatting away. Santana seems to be laughing at something Puck has said and has placed her hand on his arm. Brittany seethes. "Are you coming or not?"

Blaine looks from Kurt to Brittany.

"Save me a dance for later ok? I'm gonna stay here with Kurt," Blaine says apologetically.

Brittany turns and heads straight for the centre of the dance floor. This place is so big that she could easily lose Santana for the rest of the night but that doesn't seem to bother her right now. Brittany allows herself to get lost in the music. Dancing was always the one thing that came naturally to her in life. Not pursuing it was also her greatest regret but realistically she wouldn't trade her place at the station for anything in the world.

A couple guys try to dance with her but she makes it clear that to them that she was having none of it. After a while a cute girl starts to dance with her. She's smaller than her, like Santana. This girl also has dark hair like Santana but it doesn't look as soft. As they dance closer together Brittany looks into her eyes but they aren't the right shade. This was never going to work; Santana was all she could think about.

She steps back from the girl and mouths an _I'm sorry _at her and turns to go to the bar.

Once there, Puck and Santana are nowhere to be seen. Brittany's heart deflates. They were probably off dancing together somewhere. She bets that Santana is a sexy dancer too. Stupid Puck and his way with the ladies. Brittany orders a drink and necks it pretty quickly. She has a feeling this night is going to end painfully, emotionally wise, and she wants to dull her feelings as much as possible.

She should have just told Puck to back off. He was a good enough friend that he probably would have.

Suddenly Santana appears at her side, without Puck.

"Where's Puck," she asks sourly.

Santana doesn't seem phased by Brittany's tone.

"I _finally _managed to shake him. That guy really doesn't take no for an answer. I basically told him straight out that I wasn't interested and he said something crazy along the lines of, "All chicks dig the Puckosaurus," I mean, what even is that?" Santana looks at Brittany waiting for her to enlighten her.

Brittany's mood instantly shifts. Santana wasn't interested in Puck and as soon as she could get rid of him she had come to her.

"That's just Puck, I'll tell him to back off if you want."

"Yes, please!" Santana exclaims, "And you, Brittany! Where do you get off not telling me that you can dance like that?!"

"Oh, you saw me?" Brittany shrugs.

"Yes, I saw you! You're amazing. I could hardly keep my eyes off you. If it weren't for Puck I would have been straight out there to join you."

Brittany scrutinises Santana. She seems rather hyper but has a glazed look to her eyes but she isn't slurring her words yet or anything. She wonders how many drinks Puck has bought her. Brittany can't really say much though, she can't even remember how much she has had at this stage.

"Now are you going to keep those dance moves to yourself or are you going to dance with me?" Santana asks cheekily and wiggles her hips.

Brittany perks up and nods her head. Santana drags Brittany by the hand out onto the dance floor.

Santana turns around to face Brittany and they fall into an easy rhythm. Brittany cannot tear her eyes away from the way that Santana is swaying her hips.

"You're pretty good at this," Brittany shouts.

Santana shakes her head to let Brittany know that she can't hear a thing that she just said. Santana is so glad to finally get to spend some time with Brittany. Puck was really starting to bother her. She tried to make him take the hint by constantly asking questions about Brittany. It had been when he was droning on about one thing or another that she had looked over to the dance floor and seen Brittany. From that point on she hadn't heard a word that Puck had said. All she wanted was to be out there with her. Santana couldn't even deny to herself that it had been jealousy that she had felt when Brittany was approached by those guys. It took even more willpower for her to not go storming over and claiming Brittany as her own when that girl had shown up. For some reason Santana didn't feel threatened by the guys but she wanted to let that girl know that Brittany wasn't available.

That was thing that bothered Santana the most; Brittany was available and could have anyone she wanted. Santana may not have been with a girl before but she knew what this feeling was. She had a crush on Brittany and a big one at that. Now she just had to let Brittany know that she liked her and hopefully Brittany would feel the same way.

Brittany leaned in closer to Santana.

"You're pretty good at this." Santana hears whispered into her ear. Santana knows she can dance and had been planning on using it to get Brittany's attention all night.

Someone dancing behind Brittany bumps into her and she ends up pressed right up against Santana. Brittany goes to step back but feels a grip on her waist preventing her. Santana had caught her when she had fallen forward and had no intention of letting go. Santana slowly turns in front of Brittany while holding eye contact for as long as possible. The beat has gotten heavier and more sensual and Santana starts to press back against Brittany's front. Brittany gets the message and sways her hips in time with Santana's. Brittany brings her hands to Santana's waist. Santana turns her head and smiles at Brittany. Her head is just above Santana's shoulder. Santana tilts her head up and Brittany can feel her breath on her neck. Santana raises her hands up and tangles them in Brittany's hair. Brittany tightens her hold on Santana and moves her hands up and down her sides. Santana sighs at the pressure she is applying. Santana goes to say something to Brittany but ends up brushing her lips along Brittany's neck. They both jolt at the contact and stare at each other. Santana turns around and rests her hands on Brittany's shoulders. A look of uncertainty appears on Santana's face. She is unsure of what to do next. Brittany searches Santana's eyes for the answer to the question they both seem to be asking themselves. Her eyes were the darkest shade of blue Santana had ever seen.

They break apart when Kurt appears beside Santana.

"Have you seen Blaine?"

They are broken out of their trance.

"Yeah I saw him," Santana confirms.

"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom," Brittany cuts in as Santana begins explaining to Kurt where she saw Blaine last.

In the bathroom Brittany grasps onto either side of the sink and looks at her reflection in the mirror. Brittany can tell from her eyes that she has had too much to drink. She can't let herself get like that around Santana. Brittany straightens out her dress and turns to leave when Santana walks through the door.

"Are you ok?" she asks Brittany gently.

Brittany nods. Santana knows she should keep her distance but she can't seem to help it.

"You're an amazing dancer," she says as she takes a step forward. Santana knew what she wanted to do but she didn't know if she should. With five steps she would be right in front of Brittany and she was pretty sure that if she got that close to her again she wouldn't be able to stop herself from kissing her.

Santana's feet were guiding her towards Brittany. It was out of her control at this point. Santana stops when she is right in front of Brittany. Reaching her hand out she links their fingers together. Her nerves are failing her now though and she doesn't know if she'll be able to make that final move. All it would take would be for her to stand up on her tiptoes and bring their lips together. She knew it was what she wanted but she had never done this before. She wished Brittany would just lean down and kiss her and take the lead. Couldn't she see how nervous she was?

Brittany knows what's going to happen and from the looks of things Santana is more than willing to initiate it. She reaches her hand out that isn't linked with Santana's and places it on her lower back. She presses on it slightly to pull Santana forward. There is no space left between them and Santana is staring at Brittany's lips waiting for her to lean in. Santana closes her eyes when she feels the gap between them closing.

"Oh my god! It's Santana Lopez!" a shrill scream comes from the doorway behind them.

Santana jumps away from Brittany with a fright and turns around. A group of girls rush forward and start thrusting pens and paper at her for her to sign. Brittany stands awkwardly behind Santana as she greets the girls and answers their questions. None of them seem to have noticed what they walked in on. Santana sends Brittany an apologetic glance, begging her not to leave.

Word of Santana's presence seems to have spread though as the crowd around her gets bigger and bigger.

"Wanna get out of here?" Santana calls to Brittany who is standing supportively behind her.

Brittany immediately goes into protection mode and begins to make a path through the crowd with a tight grip on Santana's hand.

It takes a while but they eventually cut their way through the crowd and make it outside and into a cab. The ride home is slightly tense. Santana is still clutching onto Brittany's hand but Brittany is starting to sober up and is realising how close she came to wrecking everything between them tonight.

Once inside Brittany is determined to get to bed quickly with as little interaction with Santana as possible. Brittany almost has her bedroom door closed behind her when Santana calls her back. Brittany steps back out into the hallway and faces Santana.

"I just wanted to say thank you for tonight, I had a lot of fun with you."

"I had a lot of fun too, goodnight Santana." Brittany goes to give Santana a friendly hug but Santana has other ideas.

Once Brittany has her arms around Santana for a hug Santana snakes her arms around Brittany's neck and guides her face down to her own, bringing their lips together.

Santana presses her lips to Brittany's. Her soft lips fit perfectly against her own. Santana's stomach erupts with butterflies but she doesn't push it. She leaves it as a lingering kiss on the lips and steps back. She can't even look Brittany in the eye when she mutters, "Goodnight," and turns and walks into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Brittany's fingers go to her lips. She has never felt like this after a kiss before. She knows there is no going back now, she's had a taste of this girl and she'll be damned if she is going to give it up.

All Brittany can hope for is that things won't be awkward in the morning.

…..

**Bit of a cliffhanger, sorry/not sorry :P I hope you liked it :) -Aisling.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: I would just like to say how sorry I am for keeping you all waiting. I received such a great response to the last chapter but life just got in the way as it tends to do and kept me from writing. I would also like to let you know that I am by no means giving up on this story, this was just an unfortunately long break between chapters and I promise to try my very hardest not to let it happen again :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

Chapter 6

Santana groans as she wakes to the midday sun streaming in through the gap in the curtains. The pounding in her head and pain behind her eyes quickly make her slam her eyes shut again. She scrunches her nose up and rubs her temple trying to distract herself from the pain. She rolls over and shoves her face back into her pillow, sighing with defeat because she knew that this hangover wasn't going away any time soon.

As Santana tries to clear her head flashes of the night before streak across her mind. The club…she remembered the club and dancing with Brittany, a lot. She remembered how good it had felt to have Brittany pressed up against her as they danced. They had been in their own world, at least until Kurt had interrupted them causing Brittany to scarper off to the bathroom. Santana knew that they would have kissed had it not been for the fans.

However, Santana cannot help but be a little relieved that nothing happened in the bathroom. Considering her track record she probably would have tried to drag Brittany into one of the stalls so that she could have her way with her but now that her head was clear she knew she didn't want it to happen that way. She wanted any kind of relationship between her and Brittany to mean something and she didn't want Brittany to think that she was just drunkenly experimenting with a girl.

Santana struggles to remember how they got home so quickly. One minute they had been in the bathroom and the next Brittany had gone all military on her and they were home in a flash. Alright, maybe the alcohol made it seem faster but she knew that the way that Brittany had taken charge like that and wanted to protect her was insanely attractive.

The next thing Santana remembers is kissing Brittany goodnight…on the lips. Santana's eyes flick open in shock and her hand covers her mouth as she gasps. She didn't do that did she? That had to have been a figment of her imagination. There was no way that she would have had the courage to kiss Brittany like that. Then it slowly came back to her. Brittany had been adamant to go to bed as soon as they got home. She hardly even looked at Santana at all. Then Santana went and forced herself on her. It turned Santana's stomach. Poor Brittany! Santana had given her no warning or anything she had just kissed her.

"Oh God!" Santana moaned as she covered her face with her hands. How was she going to talk to Brittany this morning? She had kissed her and then left without giving any kind of explanation. What must Brittany think of her?

It struck Santana that Brittany did not try to kiss her back. Santana had waited a moment to see if Brittany would reciprocate and she had gotten nothing. Santana had been so sure that Brittany had wanted to kiss her too but surely she would have kissed her back if she had had any feelings for her at all. Brittany didn't even try and stop her from walking away. Santana's heart clenches. She had been reading the signs all wrong, Brittany didn't want her.

What was Santana expecting? That Brittany would kiss her back and that they would start dating and fall madly in love with each other? Santana tries to convince herself that that isn't exactly what she wants to happen.

As Santana continues to struggle with all these thoughts about Brittany her mind eventually turns to her label. How could she have forgotten about the label? How could she have been so reckless? If she had kissed Brittany in the bathroom at the club anybody could have seen them! If Will got wind of it she knew that he would be hot on her heels demanding to know what the hell was going on. There would have been articles in all the newspapers about how she had gotten a little too drunk and she was just fooling around with a friend. Then, of course, they would find her a new guy to date for a while until the rumours went away.

Santana found herself wondering whether or not she really cared. The label treated her like crap anyway and she hated Will's guts. In her mind what she felt for Brittany was more important than all that. Although, what did it matter really? Brittany had made it clear that she didn't want her.

The pain in her head is excruciating and she resigns herself to the fact that she is going to have to get out of bed to get something to relieve the pain. Santana sits up and reaches for her phone on her bedside table. She frowns when she sees a glass of water and two painkillers beside her phone. Santana's heart swells at Brittany's thoughtfulness. Even after what she had done Brittany still cared for her enough to look after her. It made the tight feeling in Santana's chest even worse because now she knew that it could only ever be platonic love between them.

Brittany is making breakfast when Santana makes her way into the kitchen. Santana wonders whether Brittany will bring up the events of last night. She doesn't want to force Brittany to talk about it but she wants to make sure that Brittany knows that she remembers.

"How did you sleep?" Brittany asks as Santana moves off to the side of the kitchen to look out of the window at the city.

"I remember what happened, Brittany," Santana says calmly as she turns around, building up the nerve to have this conversation, "you don't have to avoid it, we both know it happened."

Brittany somewhat stiffly wipes her hands on the towel she had been using to clean the counter as she considers how she wants to respond. Brittany had a point to make but she wasn't sure what the best way was to go about explaining it.

"I was kind of hoping that you had forgotten about that." Brittany starts cautiously, not quite sure how to continue.

Santana's heart instantly seizes and she tries to remain expressionless as the hope that she didn't even know she was harbouring inside her dies. Santana can almost physically feel the walls reassemble themselves around her heart. How foolish was she to think that Brittany had feelings for her?

Brittany notices a sudden shift in Santana's demeanour as she crosses her arms in front of her chest and wears a stony expression.

"Look Brittany, I didn't mean for it to happen, I was way too drunk and I hope that we can just move past this and both forget it ever happened. I think it would be the best thing for both of us if we are going to continue living together, which is what I want because we get along so well." Santana tries to keep her tone even as she tells one of the biggest lies she has ever told to the one person she now cares most about.

Brittany nods along enthusiastically, pretending to be in agreement. When Santana had been the one to bring it up she had been certain that Santana was going to reveal that she had feelings for her. It seemed like the logical next step after she had kissed her. Yet here she was informing her of the exact opposite, that it hadn't meant anything and that she didn't want it to happen again.

"Alrighty then, we are on the same page! That's great." Brittany then briskly picked up the plate of food she had made for Santana and carried it around to the picnic table.

"I was going to bring you breakfast in bed but you woke up too soon!" Brittany gestures at the food she placed on the table, encouraging Santana to sit down and eat.

Santana is stunned into silence at Brittany's enthusiasm. She had been sure that Brittany would want to discuss in length how they couldn't let what happened last night happen again. She even went so far as to think that Brittany might consider telling her to move out.

"You didn't have to do that." Santana stutters as she walks over to the table and sits down.

Santana watches puzzled as Brittany doesn't get her own food and sit down beside her.

"Aren't you going to join me?" Santana asks as she watches Brittany take her jacket off the coat rack and put it on.

"I forgot that I have somewhere to be." Brittany explains hastily.

"Well give me ten minutes and I'll get dressed and come with you." Santana goes to get up from the table.

"No! No, really, it's fine. It's nothing interesting. You stay here and enjoy your breakfast. I'll be back later." Brittany leaves the apartment like a whirlwind and Santana is left there literally gaping at the door.

….

Brittany parks outside _The Jolly Rancher_ and makes her way inside. Sitting at the counter she waits for her mom to come out from the kitchen.

Susan finds Brittany leaning on the counter with her head in her hands; she whips up a chocolate milkshake and places it in front of Brittany because she knows that they always put her back in a good mood no matter what is troubling her.

Brittany doesn't even look at the milkshake before she slides it away from her. Susan raises her eyebrows in surprise. Brittany had never turned down one of her chocolate milkshakes before.

"What's up buttercup?" Susan asks Brittany as she strokes her long blonde hair.

Brittany mumbles something under her breath that Susan cannot quite make out.

"What was that honey?" Susan gently tugs on Brittany's hands to get her to raise her head so she can hear her.

"Santana kissed me," Brittany states flatly, staring vacantly past her mother.

"Don't get me wrong dear, but I thought that would be something that would make you happy."

"She was drunk," Brittany sighs miserably, "and she told me that we should both just forget about it."

Susan can see Brittany's eyes begin to well with tears.

"Oh honey, I know how upset you must be but this can all be sorted out very easily." Susan reaches out and cups Brittany's cheek in her hand.

"How?" Brittany croaks as she tries to keep her voice from breaking and a tear breaks free and glides down her face.

"Tell her how you feel."

Brittany's eyes harden, she gets down off the stool and moves away from the counter, out of her mom's reach and shakes her head.

"I don't think I can do that. It's not that easy." Brittany opens the door to leave.

"Why not?" Susan calls back desperately.

"Because I'll lose her," Brittany says more to herself than to anyone else as she lets the door swing shut behind her, gets in her car and drives away.

…

Back in the apartment Santana paces back and forth in the living room. Three times she has grabbed her coat and been about to leave the apartment to search for Brittany and each time she has talked herself out of it, telling herself that logic dictates that trying to look for Brittany would be pointless. There are a thousand places she could be in the city and Santana has no idea where she would even begin looking.

And yet the other part of her, the impulsive, the passionate, the slightly crazy part of her is screaming at her to run out that door and search for Brittany until the sun goes down even if she doesn't know where she is. This part of Santana seems to be rearing its head a lot more recently and Santana knows that it's Brittany that is bringing it out in her. It had been stamped out of her in the early stages of her career but Brittany is slowly bringing back the passion that she once had for life.

Santana knows that had the situation been in reverse and she had left the apartment in the state that Brittany had that Brittany wouldn't have hesitated in following her because that's just who she is. Brittany would have found her and made her feel safe and brought her back home.

The final thread that had been holding Santana back snaps and she picks up her coat and her keys from where she had thrown them on the couch and she dashes out of the apartment.

Out on the street Santana hails a cab quickly.

"Where to?" the cab driver asks she hops in the back.

"_The Jolly Rancher_," Santana doesn't hesitate in saying. It had only come to her to go there when she was asked the question.

When she arrives she is disappointed to see that Brittany isn't sitting at the counter or any of the booths.

Santana sits at the counter anyway and waits for Susan anyway. If anyone were to know where Brittany would be, it would be Susan.

"Hello dear," Susan greets as she comes out of the kitchen.

"Do you know where Brittany is?" Santana asks urgently, forgetting all pleasantries.

Susan gives Santana a sympathetic smile.

"Santana, you know that even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you that."

Santana grips the counter tightly with rage, more at herself than at Susan but she was just so annoyed, and how was she supposed to find Brittany if the only person she could ask for help wouldn't help her?

"Santana, if Brittany wants to be alone then you need to respect that." Santana sighs and nods her head.

"Can you at least tell me what's wrong with her?" Santana begs desperately.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that either dear," Santana groans in frustration, "but I think you already know what's wrong with her."

"I already told her that I was sorry for kissing her!" Santana cries.

"Maybe that's the problem," Susan says as she walks away and back into the kitchen.

Santana doesn't get the chance to ask her what she means and she rubs her temples with her fingers, there was too much thinking involved in this, especially when she was suffering from a hangover.

Santana leaves the diner and begins to wander aimlessly down the street. It hits her how little she knows about Brittany when she realises that she has no idea where else to look for her. She doesn't know her favourite spots in the city, who she goes to when she's sad and she doesn't have the phone numbers of anyone that she works with.

Brittany is so special to Santana and she knows little to nothing about her. And yet she is fast becoming the most important thing in Santana's life. Santana goes back over the whole situation in her head and find that she doesn't regret kissing Brittany but that she regrets the way in which she kissed her. She had been drunk and had thrown herself at her to then run away. Nobody wants to be kissed like that. Brittany must have thought that she was messing with her. Santana cringes, she wants Brittany to know how important she is to her, not feel like a drunken mistake.

Santana resigns herself to the fact that she will just have to talk to Brittany whenever she decides to come home but she doesn't want to go home to an empty apartment straight away so she turns into the park that she had stumbled on during her wandering.

Santana avoids the path that guides people around the park; she really doesn't want to be recognised by anybody right now. She weaves her way slowly in and out of the trees that surround her. After a while Santana is almost certain that she must have doubled back on herself but she doesn't see the path anywhere up ahead. Not knowing which way is forward or back she chooses a random direction and sticks to it.

Santana spots a gap in the trees ahead of her and walks towards it. As she walks around a large bush she comes across a pond and there sits a cross-legged Brittany, on the ground, feeding the ducks. The tight feeling that had been in Santana's chest since Brittany had left the apartment dissolves and she slowly makes her way over to Brittany who is sitting with her back to her.

"Hey B," Santana says tentatively.

Brittany is startled at first but doesn't move from her spot on the ground. There is a deep sadness to Brittany's eyes that makes Santana want to wrap her up in her arms until she smiles and goes back to being her usual bubbly self. Santana guesses that Brittany isn't planning on saying anything so she just sits down beside her.

"Can we talk about last night?" Santana asks as she starts lining up the pebbles on the ground in front of her.

"Didn't we do this already?" Brittany says with a bite in her tone.

"Yes," Santana admits, "but it obviously didn't solve anything. Look at us B. I feel like you know me better than anyone else in the world and it has only been a week, and when you left that earlier I didn't know what to do without you, you're…you're my person," Santana shakes her head, "I know it's stupid but you've been there for me more in the past week than anyone has my whole life."

Brittany shakes her head, "It's not stupid. Never call yourself stupid, you're the smartest person I know."

"Brittany, I lied about what I said earlier."

Brittany really looks at Santana for the first time since she sat down and she can instantly tell that she's struggling with something.

"I knew what I was doing when I kissed you. I…I wanted to kiss you. I only said what I did because you said you were hoping that I had forgotten about it. I can do that for you though, if that's what you want." Santana refuses to look at Brittany right now. She fears the rejection she will see in her eyes. "I have one condition though," Santana continues, "tell me, honestly, why you wanted me to forget that kiss. Just tell me and I'll let it go."

Santana finally looks up at Brittany. She has a conflicted look on her face and stares into Santana's eyes searchingly. Brittany decides to just go for it. What does she have to lose? Santana had already said that she had wanted to kiss her.

"I wanted you to forget about the kiss because I didn't want your memory of our first kiss to be a drunken mess. I wanted to kiss you too but I wanted it to happen while we were sober, when we would both be aware of what we were doing."

Santana's heart drops. Brittany had wanted to kiss her too but tried to have the sense to make it special.

"Is that why you didn't kiss me back?"

Brittany nods seriously.

"I didn't kiss you back so that the first time that _I _kissed _you _it could be amazing and we would both remember it that way."

Santana's eyes widen at Brittany's words and her heart flutters when she realises just how close Brittany is sitting next to her. Brittany's body is turned towards her and her head is slightly tilted to one side as she starts to lean in towards Santana.

Brittany's nose gently brushes Santana's as it glides past and Santana catches a flash of blue from Brittany's eyes before her own eyes flutter shut when she feels Brittany's warm breath on her face. Santana can understand now why Brittany wanted to wait, she hasn't even kissed her yet and her senses are becoming overwhelmed. She hadn't been able to appreciate the feel of Brittany's lips before, let alone remember it. Santana knows it happened but she cannot savour what it felt like. This time Santana is determined to get it right and she tilts her head a little just as Brittany's lips come into contact with her own.

At first it is a ghost of a touch and Santana sighs against Brittany's lips because of how soft they are and her lips begin to tingle. Brittany then slides her hands up to cup either side of Santana's face to reattach their lips and them firmly together. Brittany tries not to lose herself as she captures Santana's bottom lip between her own. The tension that had been building up inside of Brittany is relieved when she doesn't feel Santana pulling away from her. Brittany sucks gently on Santana's lip and now that she is certain that she won't pull away, moves one hand down to wrap around Santana's waist and the other up into her thick mane of hair.

Santana feels her neck burn as Brittany's hand moves to her hair and allows herself to wrap her arms around Brittany's neck and pull her closer. They trade brief, open-mouthed kisses even though they both want more. Brittany is afraid to push Santana too far but Santana takes the initiative and sweeps her tongue along Brittany's bottom lip. Brittany's breath hitches and is more than willing to reciprocate Santana's intentions. Brittany slips her tongue into Santana's mouth and almost moans at the velvet heat that she encounters.

Santana sucks gently on Brittany's tongue and feels her head getting dizzy as she tasted her for the first time. Santana cannot remember the last time a kiss has made her feel this much and somewhere in the back of her mind she knows she has never felt this way and instinct tells her that only Brittany could evoke this kind of reaction within her.

Santana cannot help but pull Brittany closer by tugging at her jacket and deepening the kiss even more. The eventual lack of oxygen is the only thing that makes Brittany draw back from Santana. Brittany's chest is heaving and there is a noticeable flush to Santana's cheeks. Brittany is slightly embarrassed that she let herself get so carried away but when she is with Santana she feels everything so intensely that she has little to no command of her body. Their breathing slowly evens out as Brittany untangles her hand from Santana's hair and Santana moves her hands to Brittany's shoulders, gently brushing her thumbs back and forth along Brittany's exposed collarbone that Santana has a sudden urge to kiss but feels that now is not the time for that.

Brittany eventually breaks the silence by saying, "I was thinking of something more like that."

"What?" Santana asks as she tries to gather her thoughts that seem to have fled her mind.

"For our first kiss," Brittany states, "I was thinking of something more like that."

"Well then it has officially been rewritten," Santana says as she smiles and leans in to give Brittany a peck on the lips. "Hmm, I could get used to this," Santana hums and licks her lips. Brittany blushes and Santana laughs at how a peck on the lips can make Brittany blush even after the heated make out session they had just shared.

"Let's go home." Brittany sighs contentedly and they walk home side by side, brimming with excitement at the new potential their relationship holds.

…

Back in the apartment Brittany isn't really sure what to do with herself. She settles for making some food for the two of them but while she cooks her mind is whirring with questions. They hadn't really clarified anything from the kiss other than that they had feelings for each other. Brittany could feel Santana staring at her back as she moves about the kitchen from behind a magazine she was pretending to read. This doesn't help Brittany's concentration at all what so ever.

Brittany isn't stupid but she needs to know where she stands with people and she can't stand having all these feelings for Santana without being able to talk to her about it.

As Brittany goes to plate up the omelettes that she had made she calls over her shoulder to Santana, "Hey San? Do you think we could talk for a minute?"

Just as she finishes asking the question she feels a pair of strong, toned arms hug around her waist and Santana's body presses up against her back. Brittany shudders at the sudden yet familiar contact. Santana rises up on her tiptoes and stretches up to rest her chin on Brittany's shoulder while whispering in her ear, "Talk about what Britt?"

Brittany's mind becomes hazy as Santana inhales deeply right beside her neck. Brittany attempts to appear nonchalant as she arranges the food on the plates.

"Just about this, us, what we are."

Santana's hold on Brittany's waist tightens for a second before she gently starts to caress Brittany's stomach.

"What about us, Britt?" Santana asks coyly.

"Is this…are you…are we dating or gir…"

Brittany gets cut off when Santana spins her around and places a finger to her lips.

"Don't worry so much," Santana urges. Brittany finds it hard to take this advice from Santana when it is evident that Santana herself is worried. Brittany can tell by the crease in her forehead and the way her smile doesn't reach her eyes.

Santana can tell that Brittany is about to protest so she continues, "Listen, I just don't want to put a label on what we are too soon. I've done that before in the past and it adds unnecessary pressure to the relationship. This is all new for me, not just the fact that you're a girl but the feelings that I have for you are nothing like anything I've ever experienced before. Let's just see how things go." Santana looks into Brittany's eyes imploringly.

Santana's confession warms Brittany's heart and she nods in agreement, she is just glad to know that they are something and that whatever this something is, it is likely to develop.

After they eat their omelettes Santana moves onto the couch and gestures to the space beside her for Brittany to sit down. Santana is slightly hurt when Brittany doesn't follow suit and sit beside her. Brittany put their plates in the sink and got a glass of water. Santana knows that Brittany normally doesn't mind if things like dishes get put off for a while. She begins to worry that maybe things are still a bit unsettled between them. Santana gets up and follows her into the kitchen and stands against the counter on the far side of the room.

"Do you want to watch T.V with me B?" Santana asks gently.

Brittany spins around startled, having not heard Santana come in. Santana smirks as Brittany's eyes widen comically. Brittany starts to run her fingers along the grooves in the counter and stares at her hands. Brittany tilts her head to the side and gives Santana a sideways glance.

"I thought, maybe, we could watch a movie together," Brittany suggests.

"Well yeah B, come on, let's go pick something." Santana chirps happily although she doesn't know why Brittany is acting so strange about a movie. Santana goes to turn back into the living room when she feels Brittany place her hand on top of her own on the counter.

Santana's eyes flutter and her heart rate picks up as Brittany plays with her fingers.

"I was actually thinking we could watch it in my room," Brittany murmurs, refusing to take her eyes off Santana's hand, which she has found is impossibly soft and never really wants to let go of.

"But Britt, you don't have a couch in your room," Santana points out innocently.

Brittany is surprised that Santana didn't put two and two together straight away and quirks an eyebrow at her and sends her a cheeky grin.

Santana's eyebrows raise and she berates herself for not catching on immediately. The thought of ending up in Brittany's bed together is a dream come true but Santana also can't help but wonder why Brittany wants them to watch it in bed so much. While the thought of sleeping with Brittany definitely excites her, she knows that it isn't something that she is ready for and she doesn't want Brittany to think that they are going to just hop into bed together.

"Hmm Britt I would love to but do you really think that we should…" Santana trails off, not quite sure how to finish the sentence, "I mean we only just…"

Brittany blushes when she realises what Santana thought she was insinuating.

"Oh no, San, I didn't mean that! It's just my back is really sore and that couch doesn't do much to help it and I thought we'd be much comfier in bed."

Santana smiles as Brittany rushes out her words in order to reassure her.

"Well then lead the way!" Santana says as she interlocks their fingers. "But why is your back sore Britt-Britt?"

Brittany can't help but smile at the nickname Santana used for her. No one had called her that before and she had to admit that it was her favourite.

"I just get aches in my muscles sometimes. I was in an accident when I was younger but there is still residual pain every once in a while." Brittany doesn't want Santana to think that she's weak but she knows it's something she'll have to talk about eventually, even if she isn't ready to discuss it fully now.

"Are you ok?" Santana asks worriedly.

"Yeah, don't worry; it could have been much worse, I'm lucky really."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Santana squeezes Brittany's hand, letting her know she is there for her.

"Not right now, let's just watch a movie ok?" Brittany asks as she starts to lead Santana out of the kitchen by the hand.

…

Santana settles in and curls up on the right hand side of Brittany's bed as Brittany flicks through her DVD collection.

"What kind of movies do you like?" Brittany asks as she considers each movie seriously.

"I kinda like everything to be honest, surprise me."

"Ooh I like a challenge," Brittany giggles. "Ok, I'll pick two and then you can choose between them, how does that sound?"

"Perfect," Santana sighs as she admires Brittany in her pyjama shorts and tank top. Those legs really did go on forever.

Brittany seems to have come to a decision as she bounds across the room with two DVDs in hand and bounces onto the bed to pop herself down beside Santana.

Santana laughs at Brittany's excitement and enthusiasm. Brittany's eyes flicker from Santana to the DVDs as she waits for her to make a decision.

"B, you've given me a very difficult decision to make!" Santana cries.

Santana looks back down to the DVDs placed in front of her. Monsters Inc lay in her left hand; it was a classic and really was one of her favourites. Despicable Me lay in her right hand and while admittedly, she had never seen it before, it had been something she had really wanted to see when it came out but her life was too crazy at the time because she was touring.

"Well I've never seen this so Despicable Me it is!" Santana decided as she handed Brittany the DVD.

"Excellent choice!" Brittany grins and dashes off to put the DVD on.

…

They are three quarters of the way through the movie and Brittany is fighting off sleep, she didn't even realise how tired she was until she had cuddled up beside Santana. Then again it may also have been that Santana's scent was intoxicating and was lulling her off into a slumber.

Santana on the other hand was wide awake and alert as she hung off every word the characters said. Santana had decided that she was going to have to become an evil scientist so that she could make her own minions.

Brittany shifted beside her and her hand that had been innocently placed on Santana's tummy slipped under her top to find the warmth of her skin. Santana didn't really mind, they were extremely comfortable together and as soon as Brittany had put the DVD on there had been virtually no space between them but she couldn't very well concentrate on the rest of the movie with Brittany's hand under her top even if it was only on her waist.

Santana was about to tell Brittany as much when she noticed that the blonde's eyes were closed and she was inhaling deeply. Santana's expression softened at the sight, there was no way that she was moving her now that would just be cruel.

Santana reaches over and picks up the remote from the bed side table. She pauses the movie and turns the T.V off. She will definitely be watching the rest of it in the morning but for now she is happy to settle down in the bed and wrap her arm around Brittany's shoulders.

She presses a kiss to Brittany's forehead and closes her eyes to let sleep take her. The last thing she hears is Brittany's gentle breathing before she drifts off to sleep certain to have pleasant dreams of a certain blue eyed blonde.

…..

**Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Things will start to pick up between them now and I shall be introducing more characters. I'm thinking of having an eventual side of Faberry but I'm not sure how much attention I will give to it. Feel free to share your opinion :) Aisling xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**So I didn't get this up as soon as I had hoped and it was going to be longer but I felt that what was covered was enough for this chapter and that I could save the lighter stuff for the next one :) **

**I would also like to say rest in peace Cory Monteith. I'm devastated and still can't quite believe that he is gone. My heart goes out to Lea, his family and anybody that is struggling to come to terms with this loss.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

**Chapter 7**

Brittany was on top of the world. Not only had things been resolved with Santana, their relationship was going great as well. It had been a week since Brittany had woken up in Santana's arms and Brittany knew that she didn't want to wake up any other way…well maybe one other way but she couldn't think about that, she and Santana were taking things slowly.

That morning Brittany had been delighted to find her nose tucked into the crook of Santana's neck and their legs tangled together. It made her even happier when Santana woke up and appeared as content as she was and made absolutely no attempt to pull away from her, if anything, she hugged her closer.

Unfortunately, they had not been able to spend much time together outside the apartment. Brittany had been kept extremely busy at work. They were short-staffed because a couple guys had taken leave and there was a transfer in process and the new guy hadn't been brought in yet. This meant that Brittany was generally overworked and even had to catch up on sleep at the station when she could.

Even though Santana had missed Brittany a lot that week her mood had still been lifted with the recent development in their relationship and she had started writing music again. Santana couldn't remember the last time she had felt the need to write. In the early stages of her career she could hardly put her pen down and she came out with hit after hit after hit. Santana had only ever been with Sylvester Records and in the beginning they had treated her well, then they decided that they wanted a different sound and asked her to write specific kinds of songs. They constantly wanted fast-paced, generic club songs and while Santana always enjoyed a beat she could dance to, she never wanted to be categorised as club music.

The songs she wrote reflected this attitude and eventually Will hired people to write songs for her. Santana hated every minute of it but she was under a pretty air-tight contract that meant she had to stay with them.

Santana was determined to change things though. When she went back to work she would bring what she had written with her and demand that they be the songs she released. Santana knew that she was Sylvester Records' most popular artist and they wouldn't survive without her. Santana couldn't remember why she let them control her so much in the first place but that didn't matter anymore, all she knew was that things were going to change.

….

Brittany was changing into a fresh uniform when she heard Blaine calling her from outside the locker room door. Brittany fixes her t-shirt and slowly makes her way over to the door. Her feet drag a little and she feels the muscles in her neck and back twinge. It had been a long day, she had been on two call outs already and she was really hoping that this wasn't a third. She hadn't heard the alarm but she was pretty sure she had fallen asleep standing up when she was in the shower.

Opening the door she sees Blaine dressed in a fresh uniform also. He flashes her a brilliant smile but all she can manage back is a weary grin.

"What's up?" she yawns out as she leans against the door frame.

"I have somebody to introduce you to!" Blaine says cheerily.

This perks Brittany up a bit because she loves meeting new people.

"Brittany I would like to formally introduce you to…Brody!" Blaine cheers as a tall figure steps into view.

Brody's eyes flash when he sees Brittany. He holds out a strong hand out for her to shake. His grip on Brittany's hand lasts a little longer than perhaps it should but Brittany doesn't really notice because she is intrigued by the playful grin he is wearing. Brittany already thinks this guy will be fun and a great addition to their team.

Blaine just stands there staring adoringly at Brody throughout their exchange.

"It's lovely to meet you, Brody," Brittany states pleasantly.

"Brody here is the transfer that we have been waiting on for the past while," Blaine informs her.

Brittany nods in understanding and relief.

"It's about time you showed up," she jokes.

Brody shrugs his shoulders, "Yeah, there was a hold up with the paperwork. It's a shame, I've clearly been missing out."

Blaine shakes his head dismissively, "It's cool."

Brittany looks at her watch, it's six o'clock.

"Since you're here does this mean I get to go home at a reasonable hour today? As in now?" Brittany asks cheekily.

Blaine nods in confirmation. "Beiste noticed that you looked dead on your feet so she sent me over herewith Brody to let you know that you could go home."

Brody's smile drops a little in disappointment.

"Thank God!" Brittany sighs with relief.

Brittany turns back and grabs her bag off the bench. She dashes back past Brody and Blaine, "I'll catch you guys tomorrow!" she calls back over her shoulder.

Brittany hadn't been able to get home this early all week. Santana had managed to come in to see her once or twice but Brittany had always been called away much sooner than she would have liked.

Brittany parked her car and with a new surge of energy she bounded over to the elevator and rapidly pressed the button over and over again. Once in the elevator she jittered about the place until it brought her to her floor.

Brittany burst through the apartment door and threw her bag on the floor.

Santana jumps up from her place at the picnic table and clutches her chest.

"Dios mio Brittany!" Santana gasps, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Brittany instantly strides over to Santana.

"What are you doing home so early? I thought you were swamped at…" Brittany cuts Santana off with a firm kiss to her lips.

It takes no time at all for Santana to get the message to stop talking and she wraps her arms around Brittany's neck and pulls their bodies together firmly. Brittany's hands glide up Santana's back. Santana wishes that Brittany would do that beneath her t-shirt. After their rather heated kiss in the park Brittany had backed off and could only be what Santana would describe as tame.

She knew it was her own fault, she had been the one not wanting to label what they were and making Brittany feel uncertain but she wanted to show her that it was ok for them to step things up a notch. In Santana's mind it wasn't only ok, she was practically dying for it.

They had been sharing a bed for a week now and she thought she would have at least seen a sneak preview by this point while Brittany was changing but Brittany was always careful never to let Santana see anything. Santana didn't know if it was intentional or just a reflex but Santana knew that she needed to get some action soon.

"Hi," Brittany sighs against her lips. Santana is dragged out of her thoughts and instantly enveloped in Brittany's scent and the growing heat from their bodies.

Brittany lifts Santana up in her arms and Santana wraps her legs around Brittany's waist. Brittany buries her face in Santana's soft hair and hums at the fruity smell.

"What's gotten into you?" Santana asks gently as she runs her fingers through Brittany's hair.

"I've missed you this week," Brittany mumbles into her hair.

"But Britt, I've been right here, we've cuddled in bed every night this week," Santana reminds her.

Brittany pulls her head back and looks up at Santana.

"I know but I've been so out of it because of work that I feel like we haven't really been together," Brittany explains, not really sure if Santana gets what she means. Brittany looks away from Santana but Santana pulls her back by the chin to look at her.

"Hey, I've felt it too, we've been a bit distant but it's just because you've been really busy, not because anything has changed. I wanted to make sure you had rest and space because work was stressing you out."

Brittany looks into Santana's deep brown eyes. She gets lost in them every single time and yet they always feel like home.

"Thank you, Santana." Santana shakes her head, dismissing the gratitude. "And I promise to be around more, the new transfer came in today and Beiste is thinking of hiring a couple new people so I definitely won't be as busy."

"That's great news, Britt!" Santana pecks kisses on both of Brittany's cheeks but Brittany's lips seek out her own and she gladly meets them.

Brittany glides her tongue along Santana's top lip and Santana's reaches out to greet hers. Santana feels a fire ignite in her tummy and she sweeps her tongue into Brittany's mouth and sucks on Brittany's tongue. She nips at Brittany's lips and she moans when Brittany bites down on her lip.

Brittany pulls back, panting heavily, "You ok?"

Santana realises that she must have moaned a lot louder than she intended and Brittany had mistaken it for a moan of pain rather than pleasure.

"Yeah," Santana says flustered, "I just…liked that."

Brittany's eyes darken at Santana's husky and breathless tone. Without another word Brittany captures Santana's lips again and kisses them hungrily.

Santana is surprised when she feels Brittany begin to navigate them to where she assumes is the couch. Santana gets confused when it takes much longer than she thought it would and finds herself being pressed up against a door.

Brittany's hand leaves her waist as she fumbles with the door handle. Brittany moves her kisses down from Santana's lips to her neck and down onto her collarbone. Santana leans her head back against the door and digs her nails into Brittany's shoulders as she relishes the feeling of Brittany's lips on her neck.

Brittany gets the door open and staggers forward into her room, keeping a strong hold on Santana who has started to place her own kisses along Brittany's neck. Brittany bites her lip at the sensation as she crosses the room and lays Santana down on her bed.

Brittany hovers over Santana as she releases her hold from around Brittany's neck and lies back to stare up into Brittany's eyes. Brittany can feel Santana's hot breath on her face as Santana moves her hands to Brittany's hips. Her eyes are a molten brown that seem to be the only thing connecting Brittany to the earth in that moment. Santana bites her lip and tugs at Brittany's hips and Brittany slowly lowers herself down onto Santana.

Brittany knows that they are treading into unchartered territory and while a part of her mind tells her that they aren't ready yet, it feels too damn good to even contemplate stopping. Even feeling Santana's body pressed to hers in this way is different to anything they had ever done together. It kind of reminds Brittany of their dancing at the club. Brittany flushes at the memory of their bodies grinding together. That had been innocent and had made her feel like she was going to melt, what was this going to do to her?

Brittany presses Santana down into the bed as she kisses her deeply and tangles her hands into her hair. Santana moans in response and arches up into Brittany, constantly needing to feel more.

Brittany brings a hand down from Santana's hair and wraps it around her waist. She lifts and drags Santana further up the bed so that they can be more comfortable. Santana rests her head against the pillows unable to believe that they both still have all their clothes on. Santana catches Brittany's eye and slowly begins to take her top off, making sure her taut abs are all that Brittany can see. That is until Brittany catches sight of Santana's rambunctious set of twins concealed in quite possibly the sexiest, lacy, black bra she has ever seen.

Santana quirks an eyebrow as Brittany's eyes roam over her body and can't seem to decide where to settle. Eventually Brittany's eyes find their way back to Santana's eyes and Santana could only describe them as electric. Brittany had never felt so much life in her veins as when she was looking at Santana.

Santana can see in Brittany's eyes that she is about to kiss the life out of her and she closes her eyes as Brittany leans forward. Santana gasps when Brittany's lips don't connect with her own but rather with her abdomen. Santana can hardly take the image of Brittany lying between her legs and peppering her stomach with kisses and drops her head back. Brittany trails her hands up and down Santana's legs, alternating from gentle strokes to dragging her nails along the exposed skin of Santana's thighs until they reach her shorts. Brittany's kisses move upwards and her hands begin to trace the underside of her bra. Santana's chest begins to heave as Brittany traces her tongue through the valley of Santana's breasts.

Normally, Santana never lets anyone top her; it makes her feel pinned down and insecure but with Brittany's arms around her she feels safe and reassured, never mind being way more turned on than she ever has been before.

As their legs tangle together Brittany nudges Santana's knee slightly. Brittany wanted to be careful not to push Santana too far because this was all new for her but she seemed eager enough and Brittany was hoping that Santana needed the same kind of contact that she needed in that moment. Brittany was pleasantly surprised when Santana parted her legs so that Brittany could straddle one of her own.

Santana groaned when she didn't feel Brittany press into her centre immediately. She opened her eyes to see a questioning look from Brittany. Santana could tell from Brittany's lust darkened eyes that she was turned on but she could also see that Brittany wanted Santana to be sure. Brittany paid attention to Santana's feelings every step of the way.

Santana pulled Brittany's face down to meet her lips with a searing kiss before she rocked forward and showed Brittany exactly how ready she was for what Brittany wanted to do.

Brittany gasped against Santana's mouth at the sudden pressure she was applying. Brittany jutted forward, pressing her thigh down between Santana's. She could feel heat between Santana's legs already and she still had two layers of clothing on. They quickly fell into a steady rhythm and Santana was finding it increasingly difficult to focus because Brittany was making her feel everything everywhere.

Santana was trying her best not to moan loudly every time Brittany rocked into her but she really couldn't help it.

Santana could feel herself getting wound up extremely tight. She couldn't believe that she was this close to the edge when they had hardly done anything.

Santana's hips buck sporadically at a particularly firm thrust and her hands that had been placed on Brittany's back instantly clenched and bunched up Brittany's t-shirt. Santana knew that she was close to coming completely undone and she couldn't let that happen without making Brittany feel even a fraction of what she was feeling.

"Mmm…Britt?" Santana mumbled against her lips. Brittany quirked her head back a little but didn't stop her movements.

"This feels…ugh, really, really good," Santana moaned, "but you are wearing way too much clothes. I want to feel you against me." Santana grabs the hem on the bottom of Brittany's t-shirt and went to pull it up.

Brittany's hands shoot back from their hold on Santana and grab Santana's wrists.

"No, Santana don't," Brittany demanded firmly.

Santana's hands freeze in their actions and she looked up at Brittany in confusion.

"Oh…I thought you'd want to since we were…you know…"

"I do want to," Brittany murmurs quietly.

This only confuses Santana more.

"Well…then what's the problem?"

Brittany stares at Santana's wrists in her hands and she begins to stroke them gently with her thumbs.

"I just don't think I'm ready for you to see me like that."

"Brittany, your body is amazing, I mean, you've seen yourself, right? You have nothing you could want to hide."

Brittany scrunches her face up and feels tears prick her eyes. She doesn't want to cry in front of Santana but this is an extremely sensitive issue for her.

"That's where you're wrong." Brittany whispers despondently.

"Britt, look at me. What do you mean?"

Brittany raises her head up and looks at Santana. She's torn, she knew they would get to this eventually but she didn't think it would be so soon. The worst part is that she knows it's her fault because she initiated it.

Brittany lets go of Santana's wrists, shuffles back and turns around to kneel further down the bed.

"Brittany, please don't be like that," Santana begs.

Brittany looks back over her shoulder at Santana.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Brittany asks monotonously.

Santana's eyes widen at the question and Brittany's serious tone.

"Of course Brittany. You can tell me anything."

Santana's eyes search Brittany's as she looks for any kind of sign for what is to come.

Brittany turns her face away from Santana once again. Brittany unclasps her bra through her t-shirt and takes it out through her sleeve. Then Brittany swiftly grabs the bottom of her top and raises it up over her head to be placed somewhere on the ground.

At first Santana doesn't know what she is supposed to be looking at. Brittany's hair cascades down her back and Santana looks up at the back of Brittany's head waiting for her to turn around and give some sort of explanation.

Brittany's hands reach around the back of her neck and brush her hair her right shoulder. Santana watches as the removal of each trestle of hair reveals more of Brittany's back.

Santana covers her mouth in shock automatically. Nearly all of Brittany's back is puckered and pink. As she examines it more she notices s distinct cragginess in the skin from Brittany's right shoulder that ran diagonally to the bottom left hand side of her rib cage. Santana knew that if she were to run her hand over the skin that it would be bumped and raised there. Santana flinches at the thought of the kind of pain Brittany must have gone through.

Brittany stares stonily forward. She knows from the silence that Santana has seen the mutilated flesh and is speechless.

"Brittany…" Santana's voice cracks, "what happened to you?"

The tears Brittany had been trying to hold back spill over when she hears Santana struggle to speak.

"I'm disgusting, I know."

"What?" Santana gasps.

"It's fine. You don't have to pretend that it doesn't repulse you."

Santana's heart breaks a little at the icy tone to Brittany's voice.

How could she think that?

"Brittany it doesn't…"

"Stop. It's why Sugar cheated on me," Brittany states, "We had been seeing each other for a year when it happened. There was a fire out on my parents' farm, in the barn. All the animals were going to die, I had to do something. I went in and started letting them all out but the barn started to crumble around me and one of the rafters fell and crushed me beneath it. I was lucky to live really. It didn't do too much damage to my spine and Sugar and I were relieved to hear that I should have a fast recovery. But when the skin on my back never healed I could begin to feel Sugar pulling away from me. She never touched it and when I was changing she could hardly look at me. Then I came home one day and I caught her having sex with my best friend and she looked at me and I knew, it was in her eyes, she couldn't stand to be with me anymore and rather than just tell me, she cheated. She wanted to get caught so she could have an easy out. So here's your out Santana, I'm offering it to you on a plate."

Brittany waits for Santana to reply and gets no response. She knows that Santana is trying to think of a way to accept her offer without seeming shallow or cruel.

Santana wipes the tears that had been streaming down her face from the beginning of Brittany's story. Santana clears her throat and sits up straight.

"No."

"Santana you don't have to…"

"I don't want it," she states firmly.

Brittany hears Santana move behind her and is expecting her to get up and leave. What she doesn't expect is for Santana to place her hands on her waist. Santana rests her chin on Brittany's left shoulder and turns her face to Brittany's ear.

"The only thing that this shows me is that you're a survivor, Brittany. It makes you ten times more beautiful than I thought you already were and it makes me proud to be your girlfriend."

Brittany takes a shuddering breath in and her shoulders quake as she is wracked with sobs. She had been holding her breath, waiting for Santana to leave her from the moment she has stopped speaking.

Santana wraps her arms around Brittany's small waist, bringing their bodies together, skin on skin. Brittany continues to sob as she is overwhelmed by the intimacy that this moment holds. Brittany hadn't been held like this since before the accident and she honestly never expected to feel it again.

Santana clings to Brittany silently until her sobs begin to subside, now and then pressing kisses to her neck and shoulder.

When Brittany seems to have recovered, Santana moves her kisses lower. At first it's just her shoulder blade but the she begins to ghost her lips along the main ridge across Brittany's back. Santana wants to show Brittany that she loves every part of her body no matter what.

Santana knew this had been coming. The feelings she had for Brittany had been growing rapidly and she had long since tried to stop them. Santana was ready to give Brittany all her love but in that moment she simply tried to convey it through touch. She was afraid that if she voiced it right now Brittany would think it was false.

Brittany could feel it. Santana was bearing her heart and soul to her in the most honest way she knew how. She sighed with pleasure and felt electricity tingle across her back in a way she didn't know was possible.

Santana wordlessly took Brittany's hand and encouraged her to turn around. Santana cupped Brittany's face in her hands and stroked her tear stained cheeks. She leaned her forehead against Brittany's for a moment before getting up and moving behind her.

"Lay on the bed," she ordered calmly.

Brittany went to turn around but Santana stopped her with a slow caress on her lower back.

"On your front," she whispered seductively.

Brittany lay down on her front like Santana ordered with her head propped up on her folded arms. Santana crawled up the bed over Brittany with one arm and one leg on either side of her body.

"What are you doing?" Brittany asks curiously.

"Just relax, this is about you." Santana says soothingly.

Santana begins at the base of Brittany's spine. She massages her back thoroughly, she can feel how tense she is from work and she doesn't stop until it begins to fade away. Once Brittany is relaxed, Santana begins to use her mouth instead, kissing, licking and nipping her way up Brittany's back. Brittany struggles to remain silent as Santana continues to create her own personal heaven. Santana on the other hand does not refrain from eliciting sounds that tell Brittany just how much she is enjoying touching Brittany in this way.

After a while, Santana's kisses get slower and her movements become heavy. The afternoon had been an emotional drain on the both of them and while Brittany's heart rate refused to drop she couldn't deny that she was almost slipping into unconsciousness.

Brittany reaches back and grabs onto Santana's hand that had been gliding up and down her side. She tugs on her wrist and Santana understands that Brittany wants her to move up and lie down beside her.

They lie facing each other, both wearing matching, sleepy grins. Santana lifts her arm up and gestures for Brittany to move over into her arms. Brittany quickly does so and rests her head against Santana's chest. Santana takes in the smell of Brittany's coconut shampoo as she hugs Brittany tightly to her chest.

"Thank you."

It's a simple statement but Brittany hopes that Santana can hear the sincerity behind it.

"I'll never let you go."

"Good because I think you're stuck with me."

Santana smirks into Brittany's hair and shuts her eyes. Santana knows that Brittany shared a part of herself that made her vulnerable and she found it so incredible brave. Santana could only hope that when the time came for her to be brave that she could do it for Brittany and with every touch and kiss they shared she was starting to believe it.

Brittany fell asleep wrapped up in Santana's arms, relieved that Santana had proven her wrong and cared enough about her to stay. If they could overcome this then they could do anything together and Brittany knew that the best was yet to come for them.

…..

**Sorry about how short it is but I wanted to get something up because the rest of my week is hectic and I'm going away next Thursday and I don't know if I will be able to post anything before then. I hoped you all enjoyed it anyway and thanks for reading :)**

**Aisling x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you all so much for the wonderful response to the last chapter! It makes it so much easier to write when you know that there are people out there enjoying it. :)**

**Author's note: I do not own Glee.**

**Chapter 8**

Even though Brittany's alarm to get up for work had gone off 15 minutes ago she couldn't seem to bring herself to get out of bed. Santana was sleeping peacefully next to her and Brittany didn't have the heart to wake her but she also didn't want to leave without at least acknowledging what had happened between them last night. Brittany had never felt so exposed but at the same time so completely safe in her entire life.

Brittany had chosen not to react to it last night but she had noticed that Santana had called her her girlfriend. Now in the stark light of a new day, Brittany was afraid to bring it up in case Santana had only said it in the heat of the moment. As Brittany trailed her eyes over the soft features of Santana's face she debated whether she should just pretend that Santana had never said it or not.

Brittany glanced at the clock again; she really had to get up now if she was going to be on time for work. Brittany leaned over and pressed a light kiss to Santana's forehead. It wasn't enough to wake her and all she got was a breathy sigh in reply. Brittany glides her fingertips along Santana's jaw line and tilts her head back slightly so that she is at the perfect angle to lean down and press her lips against hers. When Brittany pulls back a frown appears on Santana's face as she starts to stir in her sleep.

Brittany can't help but giggle at the confused look on her face. Santana cracks an eye open at the sound and squints at Brittany.

"Babe, don't tease me," Santana says in an attempt at a stern voice.

Brittany quirks an eyebrow at the pet name and smiles at Santana coyly.

"Babe?" Brittany lets the word linger between them and watches as the sleep fades from Santana's eyes and she realises what she had said.

"Um…I mean…"

Brittany found flustered Santana adorable and suddenly felt bold enough to bring up what had been said the previous night.

"Don't worry about it. I guess it's fitting though, right? Since you said you were my girlfriend, it just makes sense!"

Santana gapes at Brittany and Brittany begins to worry that she may have broken her.

"I understand if you didn't really mean it, I know that you want to take things slowly between us."

Santana baulks at that.

"God, Britt, no! I would never take it back. I meant absolutely everything I said to you last night."

Santana brings her hand to Brittany's cheek and caresses her jaw line gently.

"I'm glad because I could really get used to you calling me your girlfriend."

"Really? It seems to me that you prefer Babe."

Brittany's eyelids flutter as Santana's fingertips curl around her jaw line to start drawing her closer.

"I suppose I could get used to that."

"Or maybe you would prefer honey?" Santana questions as she draws Brittany towards her. "Or how about Darling? How does that sound?"

"Hmm…they all sound good to me. I guess you'll just have to keep using them all and I'll let you know which one my favourite it."

Brittany's face is so close to Santana's at this point that their breath mingles. Brittany inhales sharply as Santana roughly closes the last millimetre between them to hastily bring their lips together.

Brittany wraps her arm around Santana's waist and presses herself down into the kiss. Santana brushes her tongue along Brittany's bottom lip and deepens the kiss. Santana finds that she's all pent up from all the touching last night without getting any release. Not that she's complaining, she knows how important it was for Brittany to feel safe with her last night.

Brittany moans hungrily into the kiss and feels herself getting rather flushed.

All of a sudden, Brittany pulls out of the kiss and Santana scrambles to find purchase on Brittany's shoulders to keep her close. Santana gives her a confused look. In her mind they had certainly been nowhere near finished.

Brittany strokes Santana's hair. "San, while I would love, and I mean _love_, to continue this, I have to go to work."

Santana groans in protest and grasps onto Brittany tighter.

"Right now?" she whines.

"Actually, about twenty minutes ago but I just couldn't resist you."

"I thought you said you would be spending less time at work?"

"And I will be but I still have to show up, I can just do fewer hours once I get there."

Santana pouts at Brittany and gives her the best puppy dog eyes she can muster.

Brittany shakes her head. "Put away the pout San. I really have to go but I promise to make it up to you later, ok?"

"You better," Santana grumbles as she releases Brittany's shoulders.

"I promise," Brittany says as she leans down and gives Santana one last peck on the lips before she gets up and heads to work.

Santana flops back down into the pillows as Brittany hops up and skips out of the room, presumably to go take a shower. Santana is unable to prevent herself from checking out Brittany's ass as she leaves and wonders if Brittany would be objectionable to a visit while she was in the shower.

…..

Brittany felt bad having to leave Santana the way she did that morning. Considering the events of the night before, they really could have used some time to just talk to each other. Although granted if they had had the time Brittany is nearly 100% certain that they would not have spent it talking. All she wanted to do after last night was touch Santana and it was really disturbing her from her work.

Beiste had her filling out paperwork instead of going out on calls today. She might have thought she was doing Brittany a favour by keeping Brittany out of the field and letting her build her energy back up but it just gave Brittany too much time to think about what she would much rather be doing with her energy.

Brittany tries to shake herself out of the lust haze she currently experiencing but she just couldn't bring herself to focus on the words on the page in front of her.

But now that Santana knows about Brittany's secret there really isn't anything stopping their relationship from progressing to the next level. Before last night Brittany had struggled to visualise her and Santana getting to that level of intimacy. Brittany had been harbouring the fear that Santana would leave her when she found out about her back. But now that it was clear that Santana had no intention of leaving her it was all Brittany could think about.

She wanted to know what it would feel like to have Santana's lips kiss her everywhere. She wanted to know every bump and curve on Santana's skin. She wanted to explore her body and know exactly what makes her tick.

Brittany was ridiculously turned on and had no idea how she was going to get through the rest of the day like this. She crossed her legs in an attempt to calm herself down and close off all of those thoughts but it just served as some much needed pressure and Brittany ran her hands through her hair to tug at the roots as she tried not to squirm at her desk. She really needed to get laid.

Brittany was then forced to think straight when Blaine popped his head around the door. "Hey, Britt?" Blaine called.

Brittany looked up, slightly startled, from the paperwork in front of her. "What's up Blaine?"

"You coming to the cafeteria for lunch?"

"Yes!" Brittany jumps up from her desk enthusiastically. Food was exactly what she needed to take her mind off certain things.

"You ok?" Blaine asks.

"I'm fine, it's just when Beiste said she was gonna give me a bit of a break I thought she meant time off, not paperwork."

"It's Beiste, you should have known she wasn't just going to hand you time off," Blaine jokes.

"Yeah you're right. What's it been like out there today?"

"Slow enough, nothing too major. It's weird not having you out there with us."

"Obviously, I'm the life of that fire truck," Brittany jokes and jabs Blaine's side with her elbow.

"You've got that right!" Blaine laughs.

They enter the cafeteria, Brittany pays for a salad and joins Blaine at a table.

"So what do you think of Brody?" Blaine asks as he takes a bite out of his sandwich.

"Who now?" Brittany asks as she pokes at her salad with her fork.

Blaine stops chewing and gives Brittany a sceptical look. Brittany looks up and frowns at his expression.

"Are you serious? Brody? The new guy I introduced you to yesterday?" Blaine says trying to jog Brittany's memory.

"Oh yeah him. What about him?" Brittany goes back to her salad.

"What do you think of him?"

"Blaine, I met the guy for a second."

"But you saw him right? I mean his face looks like it was carved by Gods."

"Girls, Blaine. I like girls," Brittany says with a shrug.

"I know, I know," Blaine states and waves his hand dismissively. " But you can still appreciate an attractive specimen such as himself."

"Yeah, I guess he was pretty attractive."

Blaine cannot seem to fathom Brittany's lack of interest.

"Fine, I suppose that's all the input I'll get from you about his looks but what about his personality? He seems like a pretty nice guy, right?" Blaine asks eagerly.

"Blaine, I really don't know. You spent way more time with him. Do you like him or something?"

Blaine goes silent and Brittany looks up to find him blushing profusely.

"I might find him particularly appealing," Blaine answers indignantly. "It's not like it's a crime."

"I didn't say it was but I thought you were into Kurt?"

"I was but he has this really messy history with his ex boyfriend Adam and I don't want to get involved unless I know for certain there is nothing going on with him anymore."

"That's fair, you've gotta put yourself first sometimes and protect your heart."

"Exactly and if in the mean time I want to admire what's around me then I certainly will and I won't feel bad about it for a second."

"I'm proud of you Blaine, it's very mature of you."

Blaine smiles warmly back at her in thanks.

"So how are things going with…"

Brittany knew that Blaine was going to ask about Santana and she was mentally preparing all the gushing she was going to do until Blaine trailed off and was looking distantly over her shoulder at the entrance of the cafeteria.

Brittany looked over her shoulder and raised her eyebrows at what she found. Brody had just walked in and she wasn't surprised that Blaine hadn't been able to finish his sentence. If she swung that way she knew that Brody's current attire would have left many people speechless.

Brody had clearly been working out in the gym and had decided that he was just too sweaty to keep a shirt on. His wet hair stuck to his face and he swept it back out of his eyes as he surveyed the cafeteria. Upon spotting herself and Blaine he smiled and started to walk over.

Brittany looked at Blaine who could barely manage a half smile back at Brody as his eyes were currently glued to Brody's abs.

"Hey guys," Brody greeted as he stopped and stood beside their table.

Brittany looked to Blaine and saw him struggling to find words so she took over instead. "Hi Brody, would you like to join us?" Brittany thought it was only polite to ask him to have lunch with them since he was new and probably didn't know anybody too well.

"Nah, I won't I'm all sweaty," Brody says with a smile at Brittany, not noticing that Blaine was blatantly staring open mouthed at him.

Brittany narrowed her eyes a little. If he didn't want to eat then she didn't really know why he would come looking for them in the cafeteria.

"Then what can we do you for?" Brittany asks.

"There's something wrong with the showers and I need some help getting them to work."

"Oh well I'm sure Blaine would be happy to help you."

Blaine jerks back to attention at the sound of his name and looks up to see Brody staring at him expectantly.

"Umm…" Blaine stares wide eyed at Brittany, begging her for help.

"Blaine, you goof, would you take your eyes off your food for one second and pay attention?!" Brittany covers for him. "I was just telling Brody that you would help him with the showers."

"You told him I would what?!" Blaine's eyes widen comically.

"Dude, the shower isn't working, chill, I just need a hand getting it to work," Brody laughs.

"Right, yeah of course," Blaine agrees. His eyes slowly glide back down to Brody's abs. "Do you work out?" Blaine blushes when he realises that he had asked that out loud.

Brittany hides a laugh behind her hand as Blaine tries to recover.

"I mean you must work out a lot, I'd say you've got a good routine going. How much do you bench?" Blaine tries to make it seem as if he is purely interested in his workout routine.

"Yeah I go to the gym a lot. The station's gym is really great. Do you work out too?"

Blaine nods eagerly even though that Blaine has never stepped foot into the gym. He likes to run and work out in the fresh air, he hates the idea of being around other people as they work out.

"Well we should work out together sometime then. I can show you my routine, it has worked wonders for me, you'll love it."

"Yeah sounds great," Blaine answers.

"So will you come show me how to get the showers working?" Brody asks again.

"Yeah sure," Blaine says as he stands up a little dazed. Blaine makes his way to the exit of the cafeteria without a word to Brittany. Brittany isn't worried by this though, she knows that he isn't really in his right mind. She smiles and shakes her head and looks up to see that Brody is still standing there.

Brody is just looking at her and it's a little unnerving.

"Is he always like that?" Brody asks.

"Who Blaine? No, he's just in a weird mood today."

"Alright cool. Well I hope I see you around Brittany." Brody flashes her a dazzling grin and he walks off to follow Blaine.

Brittany shakes her head and finishes off her salad before going back to her office. When she sits down to her paperwork again she looks at the clock and sees that it's only 2pm. She drops her head to the table and moans, how is she going to handle another three hours just thinking about Santana?

….

Santana couldn't stand staying in the apartment all day without Brittany. She could hardly look at their bed without thinking of what they had done last night. It made her hot and she knew exactly what she really wanted to do with Brittany in that bed and on the sofa and in the shower and in the roof garden if Brittany was up for it.

So in order to distract herself Santana thought she might have a little bit of retail therapy. Santana had come across a dress that was disgustingly expensive but she was in love with it. It would hug her body perfectly and give enough cleavage to ogle without it being deemed inappropriate. It had a slit on one side that came up to about mid thigh, so she could show off her good leg and discreetly cover her burned one. The soft gold tone would make her skin glow as well.

The only thing was that she really had no where to be going that would warrant buying such an extravagant dress. Then it dawned on her that it would be the perfect thing to wear for a fancy night out with Brittany! Santana picked the dress back up off the rack and bought it straight away.

Santana was going to take Brittany out that night. She would bring her to her favourite restaurant and then they could go get ice-cream or something else equally romantic. It really was the perfect idea. It would be their first proper date and Santana couldn't wait for it.

When Brittany came home Santana bounded over to her and hopped up into her arms, planting a firm kiss to her lips.

Brittany stumbled back for a second but managed to get her balance quickly enough to reciprocate the kiss. She carried Santana over to the sofa and sat down, placing Santana down beside her. Brittany drew back from Santana and felt her heart flip at the glorious smile that was stretched across Santana's face.

"Hi," Brittany said quietly as she stared into Santana's eyes.

"Hi," Santana said back before leaning in for another kiss. But Santana didn't let herself get too distracted and pulled back pretty quickly, laughing at the pouty face Brittany sent her way at the end of the kiss.

"I have a question to ask you," Santana stated, taking Brittany's hands in her own.

"Oh yeah? What kinda question?" Brittany asked intrigued.

"One that I hope you'll say yes to," Santana says looking at their hands and then looking up at Brittany through her eyelashes.

"Oh come on don't keep me waiting! What is it?" Brittany chirps excitedly.

"Will you, Brittany S. Pierce, go on a date with me tonight?" Santana's heart is in her throat. She doesn't know why she feels so nervous, she knows Brittany will say yes. Maybe it's because she's never had to ask someone on a date before, she had always been asked. Or maybe it was because she would be going out with someone she truly cared about and made her feel things that she had never felt before.

Brittany's eyes light up as the most dazzling smile breaks across her face. Brittany's grip on Santana's hands tighten in excitement. "For real? An actual date? In public?"

Santana smiles and her heart skips a beat a Brittany's ecstatic response.

"Yes to all of the above."

With that Brittany lunges forward and wraps her arms around Santana placing kisses all over Santana's face. On her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, her chin until eventually settling on her lips. Brittany nips on Santana's lip playfully before sucking Santana's bottom lip between her own. Santana cups Brittany's cheeks and can feel Brittany smile as she continues to kiss her.

Brittany pulls back and looks at Santana worriedly. "Are you sure?"

"What?" Santana asks stunned.

"Well we'll be in public and you don't want everyone to know about us yet." Brittany chews on her lip and refuses to look at Santana, afraid that she has changed her mind.

Santana tilts Brittany's chin up so that she has to look at her.

"I'm not going to let the fact that I'm not ready to go public prevent us from going outside. We'll go out and if we run into paparazzi I'll tell them we're friends. We should be fine, I've been out of the public eye for so long now that they won't even know where to start looking for me and they won't be expecting it."

While it isn't the perfect solution Brittany is still pretty happy that Santana is even ok being seen in public with her. It's a step in the right direction.

"So what are we doing?"

"I'm taking you out," Santana states proudly. "I am going to wine and dine you."

"Really? Where?" Brittany asks.

"It's one of my favourite restaurants. It's pretty up market but this is my treat so just put on your best dress and leave the rest to me."

"Ok, I can't wait."

"I'll meet you at the door at 8 sharp."

…

Santana had been waiting at the door for ten minutes already. It was only a little after 8 but it wasn't like Brittany to take so long to get ready. Normally it was her holding everybody up. She didn't really mind, she had only said 8 sharp as a joke but she was just really excited and couldn't wait to see Brittany.

Santana had been right about her dress. It fit her perfectly and in the evening light there was a soft glow to her tanned skin. She had chosen some emerald green earrings and a necklace to match to finish off the look. In her high heels Santana was pretty sure she would be as tall as Brittany which would be an interesting change.

Santana turned around when she heard footsteps approaching. Santana tried to keep her mouth shut as the most gorgeous woman on earth strode down the hall towards her. Brittany was wearing a deep red dress that was cut off just above the knee. It was tight which showed off Brittany's small waist and her legs went on forever. Brittany was wearing heels too which meant that the height difference was pretty much the same as it always was. Her hair was swept to one side and was loosely curled. The icing on the cake was the deep red lipstick that she had chosen to wear. Santana had never seen her wear it before and she knew that she was going to have a hard time looking at anything other than Brittany's lips all evening.

Brittany came to a stop in front of her and look down at what she was wearing.

"Brittany…you look…"

"Is it alright?" Brittany asked nervously.

"Alright?"

"Yeah I mean does it look ok? Sorry I took so long it's just that I don't normally go out to fancy places and this was the only thing I had that would even be slightly appropriate." Brittany scratches her neck self consciously.

Santana steps forward and pulls Brittany flush against her before giving her a searing kiss.

"You look so incredibly beautiful," Santana states while looking Brittany in the eye. "And hot," she adds as she looks over Brittany's body again.

Brittany blushes. "You look pretty amazing yourself."

"Thanks."

"So shall we go?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah but you might need to fix your lipstick before we go. Sorry about that, I couldn't help myself."

Brittany brings her fingers to her lips and blushes again.

"I'll just be a second."

…

When they step out onto the street Brittany instantly starts to look for a cab and puts her hand out to flag one down.

Santana puts her hand on Brittany's arm and brings it back down to her side.

"Why'd you do that San?"

"I thought we'd ride in style tonight," Santana says with a smouldering look.

She turns and gestures for a car parked a little way down the street to move towards them. The lights turn on at her signal and a shiny black limo rolls up in front of them.

Brittany looks from Santana to the car and back to Santana.

Santana smiles at Brittany's stunned expression. The chauffeur gets out of the front and walks around to open their door. Santana gestures for Brittany to get in first.

"After you m'lady," she jokes.

Brittany swoons a little at being called Santana's lady and gets into the limo.

As Santana gets in after her and they settle into their seats, Brittany takes a look around.

"I've never been in a limo before."

"Is it what you expected?" Santana asks.

"It's better but I think that might be because of the company," Brittany says suggestively.

Santana blushes and is glad that it is pretty dark and that Brittany probably can't see it.

"Champagne?" Santana offers.

"Ooh yes please." Brittany tries to be suave but she really can't hide just how excited she is by all this.

Santana giggles and pours Brittany a glass. Once she has poured her own she puts the bottle down and turns to Brittany.

"To a wonderful night."

Santana holds up her glass to toast with Brittany.

"To a wonderful night," Brittany agrees.

They spend the journey sipping their champagne quietly simply enjoying each others company. Brittany cannot help but look outside at the city. It's a whole new perspective looking at it from inside a limo and Santana is happy to watch her as she does so. She loves how enthusiastic Brittany is about life and enjoys watching her reaction to everything.

When they pull up outside the restaurant the chauffeur opens their door and Santana steps out first. She nods towards the driver and takes Brittany's hand to help her out of the car. She briskly leads Brittany to the entrance of the restaurant. She doesn't want to linger too long on the street, it only gave people the opportunity to recognise her.

It's only once they've stepped inside that she notices just how glamorous the restaurant was. She was glad that Santana had said it was her treat because there was no way in hell she would have been able to afford to eat in a place like this.

The maitre d doesn't even look up at them as they approach before he states, "Name."

"Lopez," Santana replies demurely.

He peruses the list for a moment before saying, "There are no reservations under the name Lopez."

Brittany glances at Santana worriedly. Brittany didn't think that Santana would forget to do something as important as book the reservation for their first date.

Santana smiles at Brittany reassuringly before looking back at the maitre d and saying, "Maybe you should check under _Santana _Lopez."

At that his head snaps up and his eyes widen as he realises who he was speaking to.

"Ms Lopez! Pardon me, right this way." He grabs two menus and guides them to a table for two in the centre of the room.

Santana rolls her eyes. They always try to put her in the middle of the room so that other customers can see what kind of clientele they can draw in.

Santana catches his eye and indicates to him to join her.

"Perhaps somewhere a little more secluded?" Santana whispers into his ear. "I can hardly hear myself think out here and I would like to be able to talk to my friend Brittany."

It stings a little to hear Santana refer to her as a friend but she knew that it was to be expected tonight.

He nods and guides them to a sheltered alcove at the back of the restaurant, well out of view of the doorway and most other guests.

"Is this more to your liking?"

"This is perfect, thank you."

They sit down across from each other and Santana instantly picks up the menu. Brittany on the other hand seems to be completely awestruck by the whole thing.

"Are you ok?" Santana asks when she sees that Brittany hasn't even picked up her menu.

"Do you eat in places like this all the time?"

"Only when I go out," Santana says with a shrug.

"But it's so fancy, I feel like they'll throw me out if I drop my fork," Brittany jokes.

"No they won't, they'll come out with a whole tray of different forks for you to choose from."

"What? That's ridiculous, that's…that's…" Brittany is set to rant but she can't even come up with the right words to describe how crazy that is.

"Hey I was kidding," Santana laughs as she leans forward and puts a soothing hand over Brittany's.

"Oh ok…" Brittany says a little embarrassed.

Brittany picks up her menu and takes a look. There were so many pages she didn't know where to start. Brittany didn't want to spend her whole evening reading the menu so she looked up at Santana and said, "What's good here?"

"Well what do you like? I'm sure they'll have it."

"I know but I don't want to spend my time looking at the menu, there are better things to look at."

Santana's heart starts to beat a little faster as Brittany smiles at her and glides her fingertips along the side of Santana's hand. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea on her part. If Brittany continues to look at her like that all night then she is probably going to jump her from across the table.

"The shrimp is really good for a starter and I usually get the spaghetti for the main. I'm so boring that way, no matter where I go I usually end up ordering the spaghetti, I just can't say no to it." Santana tries to answer calmly, not giving away the effect that Brittany is having on her with a simple touch of her hand.

Just then a server approaches them and Brittany pulls her hand back. Santana frowns in disappointment until she realises that this is what she had asked for and Brittany was respecting that. Santana was beginning to question whether it was worth it. She would much rather be able to hold Brittany's hand all night than hide for the sake of her label.

"What can I get you two ladies?" the waiter asks politely.

"Can we get a bottle of the house wine," Santana starts before looking back down at the menu.

"And we'll get two shrimps and two spaghettis," Brittany finishes for her.

"Excellent choice," the waiter says as he takes their menus and walks away.

Santana raises an eyebrow at Brittany. In the past had a date ever tried to order for her she would have been royally pissed off but they weren't Brittany and none of them ever gave her the kind of sly grin that Brittany was giving her now.

"You ordered for me," Santana states.

Brittany smiles even wider.

"Should I not have? Do you not like what I ordered?"

"No I do like it, it's just…I kinda liked that you did."

"I'm glad," Brittany says with a smirk. "But I'll let you pick dessert."

Santana feels as if her heart just fell out of her chest at Brittany's suggestion. She may as well have died and gone to heaven because she thought it would be impossible to survive the sexy look Brittany was sending her.

The waiter came back and poured them each a glass of wine which Brittany immediately picked up and took a sip of, staring at Santana over the rim. Santana reached out and took a large gulp of wine to fix the dry mouth she suddenly seemed to have. It was going to be a long night.

…

Their main courses had just been cleared away from the table and the waiter had said that he would give them a little while before he came around with the dessert menu.

While the meal had been absolutely perfect, it had also been absolute torture. Brittany couldn't use her hands to stroke Santana's hands because she was eating so she had changed tactics. Shortly into their starter Brittany had begun to glide her foot up and down the one leg that Santana had on show. She couldn't believe that the dress that she had thought was so perfect was working against her.

It wasn't that she wasn't enjoying the attention, she certainly was. She just found it exceedingly hard to concentrate on her meal or the flow of the conversation when Brittany's toes were getting into dangerous territory. Santana also didn't have the nerve to return the attentions in such a public place so she was left to being tortured.

Brittany on the other hand was thoroughly enjoying watching the results of her ministrations. She had lost count of how many times Santana had lost her train of thought in the middle of a sentence or suddenly dropped food off her fork. And if the darkness of Santana's eyes were a tell then she new that Santana was enjoying receiving the attention just as much as she was loving giving it.

Santana couldn't believe that she was letting Brittany control her like this. It was time to take over and show Brittany that she could give it straight back.

Santana calmly stood up from the table and dragged her chair around, further into the alcove, to sit right next to Brittany. Brittany's eyes narrowed slyly, wondering what Santana's game was. Santana poured herself another glass of wine and poured more for Brittany, pretending that she wasn't up to anything.

The waiter came back with dessert menus and Brittany went to reach out and grab one but Santana grabbed Brittany's knee under the table.

"I think we're going to skip dessert but two americanos would be lovely."

The waiter nodded and walked away.

"Why aren't we having dessert?" Brittany asked childishly.

"Because I can think of something better," Santana whispered seductively into Brittany's ear.

Santana slowly began to trail the hand that was on Brittany's knee upwards and Brittany instantly tensed up. Santana chuckled under her breath as Brittany's cheeks went a bright shade of pink as traced her fingers up and down along the inside of Brittany's thigh.

Brittany knew she was stuck and Santana was winning. Santana's dress didn't allow for such touches and she knew that she wasn't going to ask Santana to stop.

Santana leaned back in her seat as the waiter came back with their coffees but she didn't remove her hand. He placed the cups down in front of them and left.

Santana took a sip of her coffee and slowly began her movements on Brittany's thigh again. Brittany couldn't take her eyes away from Santana's hand.

"Drink up Britt or other people will notice," Santana stated calmly, not looking in Brittany's direction.

While she wanted to toy with Brittany she knew that they couldn't sit there huddled together not touching the coffee in front of them. Santana was sure that to anyone that may have looked over at them, not that there were many people that could, it would just look like two friends having a conversation over coffee and nothing more.

Brittany's breath hitched when the back of Santana's hand pressed against her hot centre. Santana's eyes widened at the heat that she felt emanating from between Brittany's legs. She tried to breathe out steadily but the thought of touching Brittany this way had her extremely hot under the collar and other places too she might add.

The next time the back of Santana's hand brushed against her Brittany's hand came down and held it there. Brittany's eyes had fluttered closed and Santana couldn't take her eyes off her.

"San…" Brittany breathed heavily. "You're killing me."

Santana leaned over to whisper into Brittany's ear, making sure that she ghosted her lips along it as she spoke.

"Payback's a bitch Babe, what are you going to do about it?"

Brittany's eyes snapped open and Santana saw that they had gone a deep shade of blue.

"Let's get out of here," Brittany whispered back huskily.

Santana immediately stood up and placed well over the amount of money that would cover dinner on the table. She wanted to take Brittany's hand as she walked out of the restaurant but she knew that she couldn't so she had to make do with sending Brittany reassuring glances over her shoulder as she manoeuvred her way to the front of the restaurant.

Santana sent Brittany one last smile before she stepped out into the cold night air. The first thing Santana saw when she looked back was a bright flash of light. Santana put her hand up in front of her face to shield her eyes. She could hardly see a thing. The first flash had led to a thousand more similar flashes.

Santana knew exactly what was going on. The paparazzi had found them and were going to hound her relentlessly with questions about the fire in her apartment and her sudden disappearance. Santana looked back at Brittany who appeared to be genuinely frightened. She hadn't been expecting to be utterly bombarded with what must have been dozens of paparazzi scrambling over one another to get the best angle for a photo of them.

Santana stood directly in front of Brittany and instantly whipped out her phone to get the driver to pull up to the restaurant. She had been hoping that she and Brittany could stroll through the city together but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

Then the questions started.

"SANTANA, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"SANTANA, WHO IS YOUR NEW FRIEND?"

"SANTANA, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN STAYING?"

"SANTANA HAVE YOU BEEN DROPPED FROM YOUR LABEL?"

Santana began to try and move her way through the crowd. They parted for her but only slightly and soon Santana and Brittany were completely surrounded by them. One guy pushed his camera forward, nearly directly into Brittany's face to try and get her to look up at him. Santana snapped.

"HEY! You stay away from her!" Santana reached back and wrapped her arm around Brittany's waist pulling her tight against her. "I've got you," Santana whispered into Brittany's ear, hoping she could hear her over the consistent shouting.

Suddenly all the questions took a significant turn to Brittany.

"WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

"WHAT DO YOU DO?"

"HOW DO YOU TWO KNOW EACH OTHER?"

Santana saw the limo pull up at the curb and she dragged Brittany over to the car as quickly as possible.

Once they were safely in the limo and had pulled away from the restaurant Santana took a closer look at Brittany. She was visibly shaken and hadn't said a word. Santana took her face in her hands, trying to get Brittany to look at her.

"I'm so sorry Brittany."

Brittany didn't say anything in response but clung onto Santana and rested her head against her chest.

The rest of the ride back was silent. Brittany didn't say anything and neither did Santana, she didn't know if it would make things better or worse. Santana just really wanted to know what Brittany was thinking.

When they got out of the limo Brittany wrapped her arms around herself and walked upstairs. Santana followed suit.

When Santana had changed out of her dress she went to find Brittany. She was already curled up in her bed, her arms wrapped tightly around a unicorn teddy that Santana had never seen before.

"Britt…"

Brittany was facing the wall and didn't turn around. Santana climbed onto the bed beside her and shuffled forward getting as close to her as possible without actually touching her. They lay in silence for so long that Santana was nearly certain that Brittany was asleep.

"I didn't think it would be like that," Brittany mumbled.

"I'm so sorry Britt, I should have prepared you better," Santana chokes out, overwhelmed by how dreadful she feels at letting Brittany feel so afraid.

"It's awful."

"I know, I hate it. It normally isn't that bad. They must have found out where I was and it's the first public appearance I've made in a while so they are all trying to get the scoop."

Brittany doesn't respond and a lump begins to form in Santana's throat. She's afraid that this may be too much for Brittany to handle.

"But Britt, it's a part and parcel of being with me and I would understand if you said that it was too much."

A tear slides down Santana's face as she waits for Brittany to answer her. If it really came down to it she would probably give it all up just to be able to be with Brittany and that is something that she never thought she would think.

Brittany turned over to face Santana.

"You're going to have to teach me how to get used to that," Brittany whimpers.

Santana lets out a sigh of relief and moves forward to take Brittany into her arms.

"I'm just so sorry Britt," Santana mumbles into her soft hair. "What can I do?"

"Just keep holding me," Brittany murmurs into her chest.

So Santana does and she rocks Brittany gently until she falls asleep.

…

**And there we have it, chapter 8. I hope you enjoyed it :) -Aisling x**


End file.
